The Nicor Chronicles
by Munchiesaurus
Summary: OCs travel through a newly discovered region, Nicor. Rated T purely to be safe. Currently not accepting OC's. Please review. Chapter 13 is Up.
1. Farewell Fuchsia! The Journey Begins!

**Author's Note: **Okay, so this is going to be a Pokemon story that takes place with my own original characters and if people want to send them in, other people's original characters. It's going to be in a region called the Nicor region that I have made up myself, and it will be described throughout the story. Everything will be described throughout the story. You can send in OC's. I'll accept traveling buddies, gym leaders, bad guys, rivals, and random people. I do not own Pokemon stuff, that is a disclaimer. Remember it.

**Chapter One: Farewell Fuchsia City! The Journey Begins!**

Melony Chast opened her eyes to see that the clock on the wall said 8:00am. Her dad was supposed to be home at 9:00am, and she wanted to be up waiting on him. Letting at a groan, she rolled over and set up, her platinum blonde hair falling into her almond shaped bright red eyes. She tossed her feet over the bed, and wobbled her way out of her room to the bathroom, grabbing some clothing on the way.

She showered quickly, and dressed. Her attire consisted of a white tanktop, a pastel pink jacket with one black stripe on each arm, and a black zipper, along with black hip-hugging jeans that let her belly show a bit. She slipped on white sneakers, and brushed her chin length hair, that got shorter the closer to the back that you got. She was ready for the day.

She walked downstairs to the kitchen, made herself some Chesto Berry jam toast, poured herself a glass of Moomoo Milk, and sat down on the sofa in the living room.

At 9:00am, the door opened, and the tall, rugged, dark haired man walked in, a broad grin on his face. He had a package tucked under one arm. "Hey, my little girl is awake!" he said, cheerfully. He plopped down on the couch and handed Melony the package. "Ya know, I think it is past time that you received this, since you're fifteen and all," he said. "I went to Pallet Town to get it for you."

Melony stared at the package for a moment, before opening it. Inside was a black bag that was to be strapped around her waist. "Thank you, Daddy!" she smiled, thinking about how she really did need a new bag.

Her dad laughed. "Open it, you silly thing," he said.

Melony unzipped the bag and stared. Inside, there was a black Pokedex, a hot pink Pokegear, five potions, five Heal Balls, and a Pokeball. Around the pokeball was a silver necklace with a flower pendant that appeared to open.

"The Pokeball has something in it," her dad told her.

"Really?" Melony beamed. She picked the Pokeball up, took the necklace off, and pressed the button on it.

The Pokeball opened in a flash of white, and a Squirtle came out. "Squirtle..." the Squirtle noticed the two people, and backed away.

"Hey..." Melony dropped to a kneeling position on the floor in front of the Squirtle. "It's okay, there's no need to run. I'm your new trainer... I won't hurt you," she held out her hand, and Squirtle, with uncertainty, took her hand.

"Are you gonna nickname it? It's a girl," her dad spoke to her now.

"Uhm, Izumi... It's a water – type, after all," Melony smiled. "Thank you so much, Daddy."

"No problem, sweetie, but do you know why I bought you all of this stuff?"

Melony stared at the bag for a moment. "Wait... Do you really want me to follow in Mom's footsteps?" she caught on after a moment of staring.

"Melony... Your mother was an excellent pokemon trainer. She had traveled throughout Johto, Kanto, and Hoenn, and if she hadn't met me when she returned here to Fuchsia, she would've went to Sinnoh. We got married and when you were born, after she named you, she proclaimed that you too, would be a pokemon master, and learn to love pokemon..." Mr. Chast looked down, tears filling his eyes. "You were only three when she had the accident, and left us. But she would always tell me that even though training is what caused her to have the accident in the first place, she wanted you to be a pokemon trainer, and she told me that even though she knew that I didn't want you to be, that she hoped that I would respect her wishes..."

"So, I've got to carry on Mom's legacy?" Melony asked.

"Yes... I've waited too late. This should have happened five years ago, but I just couldn't stand the thought of you leaving me..."

"So... Where are me and Izumi going to go? Are you going to send us to Pallet Town or New Bark Town, or maybe even far away to Sinnoh or Hoenn?"

"None of the above..." Mr. Chast shook his head. "Today, in about two hours, there is a boat leaving to a newly discovered region known as Nicor. It sets sail from Fuchsia. In Nicor, there aren't any new species of Pokemon, like in most newly discovered regions. Instead, there seems to be almost every pokemon living there, some from every region. Oddly colored pokemon are also more common, though they are still very rare. Eight gyms and the Nicor Region have been set up already, but not every part of Nicor has been explored. There aren't too many cities, and there's a lot of wilderness. Lot's of opportunities to catch pokemon. I know your mom would've loved it, and would've wanted you to go there, so that's where I'm sending you."

"So, I've got about two hours to get down to the beach with Izumi?" Melony asked, standing up.

"You might want to leave a bit earlier to ensure that you have a nice room..."

Melony let go of Izumi's hand, stood up, and through her arms around her dad's neck. "Thank you so much, Daddy, and I promise that I will make Mom proud of me. I will become the best trainer ever!"

"I know you are capable of it. After you finish the Nicor region, you can come back and then start exploring the other regions, if you so feel like it."

"I might do that..."

**1 and a half hours later...**

"Dad... I'm going..." Melony hugged her dad, who was now standing at the kitchen sink, washing dishes.

"I know you are. I'll miss you a lot, lil' girl. I'll keep in contact via the Pokegear, if you can get reception out there. That's the latest model, so you should be able to, though," Mr. Chast hugged his daughter back.

"Squir... Squirtle?" Izumi stared up at the two with huge eyes. She seemed to be saying, _Are we leaving? Where are we going?_

Melony knelt and picked the tiny turtle up. "Izumi, we're setting off on our own journey now!"

"Squirtle..." Izumi blushed, but seemed sort of happy at the thought of traveling.

"I'm leaving now. I love you, Daddy," Melony beamed at her dad, who hugged her once more.

"I expect to see you with a full team of Pokemon when you come back," Mr. Chast said, a teary-eyed smiled on his face.

"You will," Melony giggled, turned, and headed out the door, her bag strapped around her waist, packed with a warmer outfit, and a cooler outfit that she could change into if needed.

The boat wasn't huge like Melony expected it to be. It appeared to have no more than five or six rooms in it, and there weren't people lined up to board it.

"Ohohoh... We have a little trainer, do we?" A man in a captain's suit with a white beard walked up to her.

"Yes, sir," Melony felt shy all of a sudden, for the first time in her life. Melony was usually outgoing, social, and friendly.

"Okay, well, you're the third trainer to want to board the boat. I'm Captain Logerly and it's a pleasure to be taking you to the Nicor Region," he smiled at her.

"Is this the only boat that is sailing to the Nicor Region? If so, then there aren't going to be many trainers there," Melony eyed the boat.

"There's one sailing from every region. They'll all be arriving at different days, though, so the trainers on this boat will be some of the only trainers that you see when you arrive. Nicor is populated, but not as populated as the other regions. People are still settling though, so one day, it will be," Captain Logerly said. "You may board the boat now. There aren't any cabins in the boat, we'll all be sleeping in one room, and I hope no more than seven people board this ship, because we have eight beds, and one is mine..." He glanced around. "Doesn't look much like there will be more than three, though. We set sail in twenty minutes. Go meet the others."

Melony nodded, and headed for the boat.

She entered in a dimly room with four bunk beds. There were two people, both sitting on the top bunks.

One of the people was a male with dark brown hair and what appeared to be blue eyes. He looked like he would be taller than Melony, and he had an average build to him, not much muscle, not much fat. He was dressed simple, in a dark red t-shirt, and blue cargo pants, with black and red tennis shoes. There was a yellow pokemon, with big ears and spiky fur curled up beside him on the bunk.

"It's cute," Melony smiled, taking out her Pokedex, opening it, and pointing it at the pokemon.

_Jolteon, the Lightening Pokemon and the evolved form of Eeevee. It concentrates the weak electric charges emitted by its cells and launches wicked lightening bolts. _The Pokedex spoke in a monotone, robotic voice while showing a small image of the yellow pokemon.

The person on the other bunk was a female, obviously younger than Melony. She had cute, big bright caramel colored eyes and light lavender hair that was pulled up in two buns on the top of her head, tied by two bright pink ribbons. She was dressed in a sleeveless, pastel blue dress that had a pink ribbon on the neck that matched the ones in her hair. It also had a bunch of mini white ribbons around the bottom of the dress. The girl had light blue slip-ons with pink ribbons on the ankles on her feet. Draping from her shoulders was a light blue snake-like pokemon that appeared to be fast asleep.

_Dratini, the Dragon Pokemon. It is born large to start with. It repeatedly sheds its skin as it steadily grows longer. _The Pokedex spoke once again.

"Ah... So we do have one more trainer, Charger," the male spoke, looking at the Jolteon beside him.

The Jolteon, Charger, lifted his head up and looked at Melony with curious eyes. "Jolt," he seemed to be saying _Hi._

"The name is Alexander, though you can call me Xander. This is my buddy, Charger," the male patted the Jolteon's head.

"Hiya! I'm Sera, and the Dratini around my neck is Hiro!" the little girl introduced herself.

"She claims to be ten. I really don't believe it," Xander smirked.

"Hey! I am ten! My big bro gave me Hiro to start my journey with!" Sera pouted.

Melony smiled at the bickering. "My name is Melony, and this is my Pokemon, Izumi," she put her chin on the Squirtle's head.

"Squir..." Izumi's eyes were big, and she seemed scared. She introduced herself in a small voice.

Melony took her bag off, put it on one of the top bunks, set Izumi on the bunk, and climbed up.

"Am I the only one here that has more than one Pokemon with me?" Xander tilted his head.

"Think you are," Sera said. "Do you have another Pokemon with you, Melony?"

"No..." Melony shook her head. "I just got Izumi today."

"Okay, then. I'll show off my other two Pokemon when we get off of this boat," Xander said. "Now, why are you two going to the Nicor Region?"

"I want to take on the Gyms in Nicor," Melony said. "I have a legacy to fulfill for my mom."

"I'm gonna be a coordinator!" Sera smiled.

"Ah... I might take on the gyms later, but I'm simply going because I think that someone that I'm looking for might be there. I've been looking for them forever, and I've got twenty-four badges, so I'm going to take a break this time, I think," Xander said. "Also, how old are you, Melony?"

"Fifteen. Why does that matter?" Melony asked. She was astonished at the number of badges that Xander had, but she wasn't going to say anything at that moment.

"Because, you wanna start a legacy. Aren't you a lil' old to just be starting out?" he arched a brow.

"My dad didn't want me to leave, that's all. I can still live up to my mom's expectations, I know it," Melony frowned.

"Hm... So, you're doing this just because Mommy told you to? That's kinda, trying to live in someone's shadow, isn't it?"

"No! My mom's dead. She wanted me to be an elite trainer, like her. She told my dad that before she left..." Melony's voice cracked, and tears filled her eyes.

"Squirtle, squirtle," Izumi put a hand on Melony's leg, as if saying, _It's alright, it's alright._

"Oh... But you don't want to be a Pokemon trainer?"

"I do... Dad was just scared to let me start training. My mom died in a training accident."

Xander seemed to examine Melony now. "Huh... Your last name is Chast, right? Your mom's name was Melissa. Melissa Fallor before marriage, right?"

"Yeah..."

"I've heard of your mom. My uncle knew her, loved her until she got married. He was there when that Pokemon hit her. Devastated him, almost," Xander sighed.

"Really?" Melony wiped her eyes now, trying hard not to cry anymore.

"Yeah. She was battling a Hariyama with her Houndoom. The Houndoom dogdged the Hariyama's Take Down and the pokemon kept going and crashed into Melissa, threw her against some rocks. She died from the injuries two days later. A lot of people were watching her, because she was back in her hometown of Little Root, and people were excited to see the champion battle," Xander explained.

"Dad never told me any of that. He just said that she got injured and didn't survive," Melony sighed.

"Hmph. What happened to her team?" Xander asked.

"I dunno... I think dad gave them away or something. I can't remember seeing them or my mom, ever," Melony's voice cracked again.

"I was seven when your mom died. I've met her. Imagine yourself with long hair and more curves, that's what she looked like. Taller, too, I think," Xander said.

"So I look like her?" Melony sighed. She picked up Izumi and cuddled up to the tiny Squirtle.

"Can we please stop talking about this? It's so sad," Sera whimpered.

"I agree that we should stop..." Melony mumbled.

"Alright. My parents are both breeders. My uncle's the only trainer still alive in my family. My grandfather was one, but he served his time in this world and so did his Pokemon," Xander said.

"My big bro is a gym leader here. He's the third gym leader!" Sera grinned. "My mommy is a coordinator and my dad is a Ranger."

"Who are you looking for, Xander?" Melony asked.

"My uncle. He disappeared when I was sixteen. He taught me all I know of Pokemon. He said that he was going to a faraway region and that I might run into him one day. I miss him, and I want to battle him," Xander said, shrugging.

"How do you have twenty-four badges with only three pokemon?" Melony asked. It seemed odd to her.

"I've got more than three Pokemon. I've got a Pokemon from every region that I've been to. Charger is my very first Pokemon, and then I have my Scizor, Dagger, and my Mawile, Angel," Xander explained. "I've got quite a few pokemon in my PC."

"Oh..." Melony nodded.

"I want more Pokemon!" Sera said. "I've got to get one more before I start coordinating."

"We should travel together," Xander spoke in a flat voice, but now held a sparkle in eyes.

"We should! That would be so much fun!" Sera grinned.

"What do you think, Melony? You gonna travel with Sera and me?" Xander asked.

"Sure... That would make things easier, I think..." Melony nodded.

The door opened to the room now, and Captain Logerly walked in. "We set sail now, you three!" he smiled brightly.

"Yay!' Sera and Melony exclaimed at the same time.

Xander chuckled. "You two are cute, though two different forms of cute, I think."

"Huh?" Sera gave him a questioning look.

Captain Logerly had now left the room to the Captain's room.

"You're little kid cute, Sera. She on the other hand, she's cute with her looks, and personality," Xander smiled.

"Are you hitting on me?" Melony sounded almost offended, though secretly, she was flattered.

"Maybe..." Xander smirked.

"Aww..." Sera grinned.

Melony glared at her.

The motor to the boat started up, and the boat was now moving.

"We're heading for the Nicor Region, now. Can't wait to see what happens..." Xander patted Charger's head. The Jolteon seemed sort of frightened by the moving of the boat.

"Squir..." Izumi's eyes were on the small, round window. She seemed amazed by the vast ocean that was now surrounding the small boat.

"Yay! The start of coordinator career will begin soon!" Sera grinned widely.

Melony let out a sigh. "I'll make you proud, Mom."

**Authors Note: **I am aware that this chapter was rather boring and drug out, but it was just to get a good bit of introduction to the main characters over with. The next chapter will be better, though there will be a lot of detail and long paragraphs as I explain the Nicor Region. Also, I'll gladly accept OC's, just review with this outline filled out, or you could send it to my inbox. I'll bring the characters in when I get the chance. I need seven gym leaders, since the third is taken, and I need some rivals, bad guys, and maybe one or two more people could travel with them or something. Just fill this out:

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Hometown:

Pokemon Team:

Role:

Appearance:

Personality:

Brief History:

Anything Else:


	2. Rivals

**Author's Note: **Thank to everyone for sending me your characters. I will work them in as soon as possible, at least get the meeting of them in as soon as possible. Also, for those who are still wanting to submit OC's, please read my profile, because I will keep it updated with what positions have not been filled. I'm doing a very miniature time skip to where they have just set foot in the Nicor Region. Not a big time skip, but this might not be the last time I do a time skip, unless they get on my reader's nerves that bad.

**Chapter Two: Rivals**

The beach of Nicor was bathed in bright orange light when Xander, Melony, and Sera arrived, and left the boat. Xander estimated that they had less than two hours before it was completely dark.

There were many trainers on the beaches of Nicor, and four boats at the dock. Most of the trainers were either sprawled out in the sand, resting before they began their journey, or playing with their pokemon in the waves.

Melony couldn't help but notice one trainer sitting alone on the beach, a Houndour curled in the sand next to him. "We should go talk to that guy..." Melony pointed to the boy.

"Okay!" Sera smiled brightly and began to approach the trainer.

Xander simply shrugged, and followed as Melony began to walk as well.

"Hiya! My name is Melony," she introduced herself once she stopped in front of the boy. She noticed that he looked sickly, and wondered if he was recovering from an illness.

The boy was frail, and skinny. His hair was light brown, and held little shine to it, though it looked well-kept. His eyes were sunken in, and lined by deep, ashen circles. His eyes appeared to be hazel, or maybe green, it was hard to tell in the orange light of the sunset. He was pale, and you could see the bones of his face. He was dressed in an oversized brown coat, old jeans, and a pair of boots. You could see only the collar to the gray shirt under the coat. He had a backpack that looked as if it would fall to shreds at any given moment.

The Houndour didn't look much better than the boy. It was also underweight, and it was possible to see its ribcage. It's fur was duller than that of a normal Houndour's coat. It had wounds on it that appeared to be from some kind of parasite, maybe fleas or ticks. The Houndour's eyes were dull, but as he placed his head on the boy's leg, Melony could tell the puppy was close to his owner.

"What do you want?" The boy snapped at Melony, a glare now taking over his diminished facial features.

"I was just introducing myself. You're alone, and..." Melony couldn't think of anything to say. She was slowly backing up, sensing that the boy wasn't nice.

"Well, maybe I wanted to be alone!" the boy's eyes then fell to Izumi, who was in Melony's arms. "Hey, battle me! Houndour can take on that puny Squirtle of yours in a matter of seconds." The boy was now on his feet, the Houndour in front of him.

"Uhm," Melony backed away still, until she bumped into Xander.

"Well, are you scared? I would be scared, but I challenged you, you should accept the challenge!" the boy crossed his arms over his chest, still glaring at Melody.

"You should teach this jerk that Izumi isn't puny..." Xander whispered. "If you don't, I'll send Charger to pound that Houndour of his, and that won't be fair."

"Show that big meanie who's boss," Sera grinned, her eyes determined.

"Okay," Melony stepped forward, and Izumi jumped onto the ground. "I accept your challenge. The name's Melony by the way. I'll make sure you won't forget my name after this."

"Hmph! Yeah, right! My name is Joshua, not that it matters. Let's battle!" the boy, Joshua smirked. "Houndour, start things off with Tackle."

"Izumi, dodge, and use Bubble, go!" Melony commanded.

Izumi was too slow to dodge, though, and Houndour collided with the Squirtle, sending her backwards. Izumi remained on all fours though, and let out a jet of bubbles.

"Dodge!" Joshua yelled.

Houndour was faster than Izumi, and had no problem dodging her attack.

"Now, use another Tackle!" Joshua commanded.

"Izumi, d-" Melony didn't even have time to finish her command before Houndour collided with Izumi, and this time, she didn't stay on her feet.

Izumi was flipped onto her shell, and began to struggle.

"Uh-oh..." Xander mumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Izumi, c'mon, get up!" Melony sounded desperate now.

"Houndour, finish the poor thing with an Ember," Joshua commanded.

The fire attack hit Izumi, and when the small flame cleared, Izumi was no longer struggling.

"Looks like you lost, just like I knew you would!" Joshua yelled, walking over to Melony, who was now crouched beside Izumi.

He kicked sand at her, a smirk on his face.

Melony jumped back, and fell onto her bottom, Izumi in her arms. "HEY!"

Xander growled, but Joshua didn't seem to notice.

"You'll never be able to beat me, you know that?" Joshua spoke in a mean tone, not a challenging one.

"This won't be the last time we battle, and I will beat you next time, Joshua, I promise," Melony said, rubbing sand out of Izumi's face.

"You're such a big bully!" Sera snapped at Joshua.

"Okay, then. You battle me! I'll go even harder on that Dratini around your neck," Joshua glared at Sera now.

Sera stepped back behind Xander. "I'm a coordinator, I decline your challenge," she squeaked.

"Hmph! Later, Melony. Can't wait to scorch your Pokemon again!" Joshua said over his shoulder, as he left, heading for the entrance to a forest in the distance.

"Squir..." Izumi seemed to apologize for losing.

"It's okay, Izumi... You did your best," Melony stood, hugging Izumi.

"That giant cabin over there is the first Pokemon center that you'll see in Nicor," A brutal looking trainer walked up to the three. He had black hair and obviously green eyes. He was dressed in dark clothing, and there was a Luxray at his side. He was frighteningly tall, even compared to Xander. 

"Uhm.. Thanks," Melony felt intimidated, and hoped that he didn't want to battle after she healed Izumi.

"You seem afraid of me, but don't worry! I'm not gonna battle you right now. In fact, I ain't gonna battle you for a long time," he smiled at her. "After, all, you're a newbie trainer by the looks of it, and I'm the eighth gym leader of this region," he seemed proud of this.

"You're the eighth gym leader?" Melony felt even more intimidated, but she was glad that he had no will to battle her.

"Yep. I'm Theodore Donatello, also known as The Don, or.. Just Don," he introduced himself. "And this," he patted the Luxray's head. "Is my Luxray, Delux!"

"My name is Melony, and this is my Squirtle, Izumi. It's awesome to already be meeting the final gym leader, Don," Melony smiled brightly.

"My name is Xander, and you might be facing me one day, though not right now, or soon," Xander introduced himself.

"I'm Sera, future coordinator extraordinaire!" Sera introduced herself.

"Why am I not going to be battling you anytime soon? You some sort of elite trainer?" Don arched a brow.

"No, I'm just not taking the gym challenge right now, but I will," Xander shrugged.

"Huh... How about we have a little one on one battle real quick anyway? I see you have a Jolteon, so how about the Jolteon taking on Delux?" Don suggested.

"Fine, if that's what you want, but it's gonna be embarrassing if you get beat by me with two newbies standing right here, and many newbies surrounding us," Xander smirked. "By the way, the Jolteon goes by Charger."

"I won't be beaten," Don seemed confident.

"Whatever you say. Let's go, Charger!" Xander grinned when his Jolteon stepped in front of him.

"Time to battle, Delux!" Don also grinned as his Luxray stepped in front of him.

"Charger, go with a Double Kick!" Xander commanded.

"Send it back with a Shock Wave!" Don commanded.

Even though Volt Absorb kicked in, Charger was still stopped by the Shock Wave.

"Shadow Ball!" Xander now cried.

A dark ball began to form in front of Charger, and Don commanded that Delux use Crunch.

Delux's attack hit Charger right before Delux was hit by the Shadow Ball. Delux was blasted back, but both Pokemon were still standing.

"You're pretty good, Xander," Don commented. "But nowhere near good enough to face Delux. Use Thunder Wave!"

Delux's attack hit, and Charger was paralyzed.

"Dang it!" Xander sighed. "Charger, try to use another Shadow Ball!"

"Use Crunch again," Don simply spoke, as if he knew the battle was about to be over.

Delux lunged, but Charger had began to use Shadow Ball, and Delux collided with the attack, causing a dark massive explosion that sent both Don and Xander flying backwards.

"Charger..." Xander watched, eyes wide.

"Delux!" Don had the same expression.

The aftermath of the attack eventually cleared, and both Pokemon were laying with their noses touches, knocked out.

"Jolt..." Charger whined, recovering a bit, but not enough to get up.

"Lux... Ray..." Delux whined as well, his eyes now opened.

Both Xander and Don ran for their Pokemon.

"Does this mean it's a tie?" Sera asked.

"Yes, it does..." Don sighed, lifting Delux up.

Xander hugged Charger, and then stood, holding out a hand. "I think that was an excellent battle, and it was great to battle you."

Don shook his hand, and nodded. "I agree. I need to be getting back to my gym now, but if I'm out and see you again, I want another battle."

"You've got it," Xander nodded in agreement.

Don left, carrying his injured Pokemon, and Xander turned to Melony. "We both need to get to the Pokemon Center, now," he said.

"Yes, yes we do... And then we go through that forest that I've saw a couple of people enter?" Melony asked.

"I guess so. We'll ask the nurse that," Xander said.

The group headed for the Pokemon Center, and once they entered, they were greeted by Nurse Joy. "Welcome."

"Nurse, my friend and I need our Pokemon healed, and quick, if possible," Xander said, pointing to Charger and Izumi.

"Oh. They got injured battling, correct? Just give me an hour and you'll have them back. There are sofas to sit on, and you can sit there until then," she said.

Xander and Melony handed over Charger and Izumi and the Nurse headed through a door with the Pokemon.

The trio plopped down on a couch, and Xander was the first to speak.

"Are we gonna stay here overnight, or are we gonna go through the forest in the dark?" Xander asked.

"Hm, I wanna at least check the forest out," Melony said.

"Me too!" Sera agreed.

"Alright... We'll do that," Xander nodded.

_**Author's Note: **_Okay, I'm done with Chapter two now. I hope everyone enjoyed the two battles that went on.

To Kios and Silver Don: Did I do a good job on your characters? If not, what did I mess up on?


	3. Solace Forest

**Chapter Three: Solace Forest**

Izumi and Charger were returned an hour later, as Nurse Joy had told them, and now the trio was standing outside of the cabin of a Pokemon Center, staring at the dark trees that the nurse had told them were known as Solace Forest, due to the fact that the forest was always quiet, peaceful, and still, even though many different pokemon had made the forest their home.

They had also been told that beyond Solace Forest was Nightor, a town that was heavily surrounded by looming trees, shading the entire town, making the sunlight never touch the ground. This was home of the first gym leader, a Ghost type trainer. That was all the information Nurse Joy had give them, and though it wasn't much, it was more than enough to encourage Melony to want to travel through Solace Forest, even though it was very close to night.

So now, the three were walking towards the forest, silence among the group until Melony spoke. "I really want to catch a pokemon here. Do you think that I'll find something that I like?"

Xander shrugged. "Do you even know what type of Pokemon that you like?"

"Nope," Melony shook her head, a frown upon her face.

"I wanna catch a pokemon, too!" Sera said, in an almost sing-song voice.

"Ti-ni?" Hiro, who was now awake, gave her a questioning look.

"Hiro, of course you're still gonna stay out of your ball, and get lots of attention, but we need one more pokemon in case the first contest requires a double battle or something," Sera patted the Dratini's head, and the snake-like pokemon nuzzled into her neck.

"Are you gonna catch a pokemon here, Xander?" Melony asked, looking upward, at the tall male who walked beside her. For a second, she thought of Don, and how tall he had been, and a chill went down her spine. Something told her she would fail on the first battle against him. His pokemon was strong enough to almost beat a Pokemon who had traveled across three regions, after all.

"Neh... I might, but I'm pretty particular with catching pokemon, and I also want to catch a Sinnoh pokemon, since that's the only region that I don't own a pokemon from, apart from Mismagius, but that doesn't count, since I caught her in Johto, and bought a Dusk Stone at the Pokeathelon," Xander said.

They were now in the forest, where there was little light. The only things that were noticeable without straining your eyes were the intimidatingly tall trees, the fallen stumps, and the oddly bright, pale blue rose-like flowers that bloomed all over the forest.

"It's pretty..." Sera mumbled, her eyes wide.

"It's very prettty," Melony agreed, nodding. "There's no path," She then added, flatly.

"Then we just weave our way through the trees... There's only two possibilities to where we could end up... Either we end up back at the beach, or we end up in Nightor," Xander shrugged. He didn't seem affected by the flowers or the thought of getting lost.

"You're right, let's go," Melony's eyes narrowed in determination, even though in the inside, she felt terrified.

They began to walk, Melony in front with Izumi sitting on her head, Xander to her left, with Charger now in his Pokeball, and Sera to her right, petting Hiro to keep him calm.

"Why can't we see any pokemon?" Sera asked, her eyes scanning the trees and the bushes of the forest.

"Because, I don't think we're going to have thousands of pokemon just jumping out at us or anything, Sera," Xander sighed. He was also watching the forest. "Melony, watch it!" His voice suddenly became loud.

"What is it?" Melony turned around only to have a ghostly tongue slide up her face, sending a feeling of stiffness through her body.

"Ghastly..." a pokemon snickered as it faded into the night.

"What. Was. That?" Melony asked, her body shaking, her eyes wide.

"I think it was a ghost pokemon known as..." Xander's voice faded. "It's behind you," he now whispered.

Melony didn't have time to turn around before Izumi was standing on her head, firing bubbles at the pokemon.

"Ghast!" the ghost was hit by the attack, and temporarily astonished by it. "Ghast..." It growled at Izumi, and it's black cheeks became swollen.

"What's it about to do?" Melony asked, now facing the direction of the Ghastly.

"I don't-" Xander was interrupted by the pokemon exploding, sending the trio backwards.

Melony fell, and Izumi fell off of her head, and onto her shell.

"Squirtle, Squirtle, Squirtle!" Izumi struggled without success to get back on her feet.

Xander slid and was stopped by a tree, and Sera fell onto her stomach.

"Ack! Stupid..." Melony climbed to her feet, a empty pokeball now in her hand. "I'm catching that stupid pokemon!" She waited for the smoke to clear, glad to see the Ghastly knocked out on the forest floor. She threw the Pokeball, which bounced off the Ghastly, opened, and with a flash, the Ghastly was inside.

The Pokeball wiggled three times, before the light in the middle flashed, letting Melony know that her attempt was a success.

"Yay!" Melony grinned, and after kneeling to help her struggling Squirtle onto her feet, she ran and grabbed the pokeball, Izumi behind her. She let the Ghastly out of its pokeball and took out her Pokedex.

_Ghastly, the Gas Pokemon. With its gas-like body, it can sneak into any place it desires. However, it can be blown away by the wind._

"Are ya gonna name it?" Sera ran up to Melony, half hiding from the exploding Ghastly.

"Ghastly... Ghost pokemon, and since my dex says it's a female, I need a female name," Melony stared at the ball of gas, who stared right back at her. "I'm going to call you Dahlia," She said, after glancing down at the "Form" option on her Pokedex to make sure the Pokemon was a girl.

"Ghastly!" Dahlia grinned, and then ran its long tongue up Melony's face once more.

"Don't do that..." Melony sighed, shaking. "You go back in the ball, Dahlia," she held out the Pokeball, returning the pokemon. She then turned to Xander. "Does it evolve?"

"Uhm, yeah... It'll developed hands in its next evolution, and then feet in its final evolution... I've battled a couple of its final evolution," Xander shrugged.

"That sounds alright, I think..." Melony rubbed the back of her neck, still slightly shaken from Dahlia's attack. She slipped the ball into her bag, and glanced at her travel companions. "Continue to Nightor, right?"

"Yep!" Sera grinned.

"Let's go," Xander shrugged.

The trio continued to walk until a Togetic came flying, slamming into Xander's chest.

"Woah!" Xander caught the small Pokemon, his feet sliding against the ground.

"Tic!" the Togetic waved a Xander, a broad smile on her face.

"Riolu!" A Riolu now came charging, ice surrounding his fist.

Xander dodged just before the Pokemon's fist collided with his face.

"Ri..." the pokemon growled at him, and charged this time with a Shadow Claw.

"What the heck? Why are you attacking me?" Xander jumped to the side, let the Togetic go, and pulled out the ball that contained Charger.

"Ri..." the Riolu seemed to sigh in relief when the Togetic flew over to him.

"Tic! Tic!" the white pokemon hugged the small dog-like Pokemon.

"They're adorable!" Sera cooed, attempting to run over to the Pokemon, only to be stopped by Xander.

"No, the Riolu is not a nice Pokemon, Sera. Don't get close to it," he warned.

"They are cute, aren't they?" A girl with long black hair, dressed in dark black and red clothing appeared, walking up to the two Pokemon.

"Do they belong to you? If so, tell your Riolu to lay off or I'll get my Jolteon to obliterate him,"Xander glared at the girl.

The girl knelt and picked the two Pokemon up, hugging them to her chest. "I'm sorry if Nova gave you problems. I promise he was only trying to protect Zaye," the girl sighed.

"Your Pokemon are so cute! Can I pet them?" Sera asked, hanging onto Xander's arm now.

"Uhm... Nova might not like you getting too close to me," the girl said, grinning awkwardly. "My name is Kelly. Are you three traveling together?"

"Yep. I'm Sera and this is Hiro the Dratini!" Sera grinned. Hiro lifted his head, but seemed uninterested in the trainer.

"My name is Xander," Xander sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm Melony and this is my Squirtle, Izumi," Melony smiled, taking out her Pokedex.

_Riolu, the Emanation Pokemon. They communicate with each other using their auras. They are able to run all through the night. _The pokedex spoke as Melony aimed it at Kelly's Pokemon.

_Togetic, the Happiness Pokemon. They say that it will appear before kindhearted, caring people and shower them with happiness._

"Are you all trainers?" Kelly asked, after seeing Melony's Pokedex.

"Xander and Melony are, but I'm a coordinator!" Sera grinned broadly.

"Oh. That's kinda like me. I'm both a trainer and a coordinator, really, but since it's been awhile since I've did any contests, I'll probably mostly be doing contests this time," Kelly eyed Sera suspiciously. "Are you you even old enough to be a trainer?"

"I'm ten... They didn't believe it either, but I am!" Sera said, sticking her bottom lip out in a pouting manner.

"Okay, I believe you," Kelly smiled. She let go of her Pokemon, and the jumped down on the ground, while the Togetic plopped down on Kelly's shoulder.

"We really need to be on our way... It's probably getting late," Xander said, eying the sky, which was barely visible through the trees. The sky was pitch black, dotted with sparkling stars.

"I understand that, but would you three mind if I traveled with you?" Kelly asked, giving the trio a pleading look. "I think it would be fun to practice coordinating with Sera."

"I have no objections. It would be fun to have another coordinator tag along," Sera spoke in a cheerful voice.

"It's fine by me," Melony shrugged.

"Alright, sure you can, Kelly," Xander said, his voice completely indifferent.

"Okay, thank you so much!" Kelly smiled brightly.

"Togetic!" Zaye flew over to Xander, and attempted to hug his neck.

"Ri..." Nova let out a growl, and glared at Xander.

"It's not me that's doing it, pup... And if you attack me you'll be sorry," Xander glared at the Riolu.

"Nova, he's not hurting Zaye," Kelly sighed, picking the Pokemon up. "Sorry about Nova., once again. He'll eventually get used to you, and Zaye already seems to love you," Kelly smiled.

"It'll be fine, I guess," Xander sighed, patting the Togetic on the back of the head. "I've already had to get used to a hyper-active little kid," he added, nodding towards Sera.

"Hey, what about Melony? Why don't you say something bad about her?" Sera placed her hands on her narrow hips and glared at Xander.

"I'm not saying anything bad about Melony," Xander rolled his eyes.

"It's only because you _like _her! Hmph!" Sera turned her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Kelly, if you join us, apparently you're going to have to listen to a lot of bickering between those two. I don't know them that well, so I don't know how often they'll do this," Melony gave Kelly a look of sympathy.

"It's no worse than two of my Pokemon bickering over my affection," Kelly grinned, thinking of the Houndour and Corphish that she owned that bickered constantly.

"Okay, then," Melony wiped her bangs from her face in an indifferent manner, and began to walk. The others followed, and they continued their journey through Solace Forest to the town of Nightor.

_To Be Continued..._

**Author's Note: **Pontiger27: I hope I did a good job with Kelly. I introduced her sooner than planned, but I thought she would fit in at this point.

Also, I hope the chapter was good. The next chapter might be short, but I need to think up some more ideas before I finish their journey through Solace Forest. Also, my town names might suck, and I'm sorry for this. ^_^;


	4. Solace Forest Pt2

**Author's Note: **They will now be clearing Solace Forest in this chapter. I will try to be more descriptive in this chapter, and sorry my description of Solace Forest was rather bland, but in my head, I see Solace Forest at night as a dark forest with looming trees that block the moonlight, and the only thing lighting the forest being the faint glow of the pale, shimmering roses that are in every corner of the forest. That's all I see. It's a kind of bland forest, like the first place always is in the games.

Also, if you have read my profile, yes, there will be six characters that travel together, and most of the time, they will have Pokemon out of their balls with them. I promise that I can manage six characters traveling in a group without it becoming confusing. I've did something similar to this in real life when I let a bunch of people from school make characters for a story I'd just started. It works with me.

Also, I don't think I've said this during this story, and if I have, I've forgotten. I don't own Pokemon.

Also, thanks to Sir Gigous for giving me some ideas on introducing the bad guys and defeating the bad guys.

**Chapter Four: Solace Forest Pt.2**

The group was now continuing their trek, and getting to know the new member of the group.

"So, how many Pokemon do you have, Kelly?" Melony asked. She was walking while hugging Izumi, who was drifting off.

"I have six. I have a Dodrio, a Corphish, a Ivysaur, Houndour, and," Kelly paused to point at Zaye and Nova, "I have these two."

"Wow, you have more than Xander," Sera smiled. She made it obvious that she was only trying to annoy Xander when she gave him a sly look.

"Sera, ya know, I've only knew you for less than a day, but ya know, you're really annoying, and it wouldn't take much for me to scare you..." Xander smirked.

"You can't scare me!" Sera boasted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, really?" Xander removed a Pokeball from his belt, and tossed it into the air. "Go, Dagger, use a Double Hit on the annoying little girl!"

A Scizor appeared in the air, and landed in front of Sera. He gave Xander a questioning look, and Xander nodded, winking at the same time.

"Sciz. Scizor!" Dagger charged, swinging his large, steel, pincers at Sera.

Sera let out a blood curdling scream, falling against a tree.

"Xander!" Melony snapped.

Dagger swung repeatedly, purposely missing each time.

"Are you scared, Sera?" Xander asked, smirking.

"Yes..." Sera whimpered, tears in her eyes.

"Tiii-Nii!" Hiro let out a Dragon Pulse, which didn't phase Dagger in the slightest bit.

"Okay, return, Dagger!" Xander called, returning the pokemon back into his ball.

"Xander, are you _stupid? _That was so mean!" Melony snapped, glaring at Xander, her hands on her hips.

"But..." Xander's eyes were wide.

"Come here, Sera," Melony walked over to Sera, let Izumi climb on top of her head, and picked Sera up. "It's alright. Xander's just a bully," Melony cooed, running her hand over Sera's light hair.

"Xander, that wasn't cool in the least bit, and you know it," Kelly shook her head.

"To-getic..." Zaye stared at Xander, wide eyed, as if saying, _I thought you were nicer than that..._

Xander grunted, and reluctantly, he walked over to Sera and Melony, and placed a hand on Sera's shoulder. "Hey... Sera, I got carried away there. I let my temper get the best of me... We're still friends, right?"

Sera looked up at Xander, and sniffled. "Please don't send your Pokemon out on me again?" she whimpered.

"No... I won't," Xander spoke in an assuring voice. "Hug?" He opened his arms.

"Okay..." Sera smiled a bit, and fell out of Melony's arms into Xander's arms.

"You wanna hug, too?" Xander arched a brow at Melony.

"What? NO!" Melony shook her head, disgusted with Xander.

Sera pulled away from Xander and rubbed her eyes. "I'm getting sleepy. Can we try to get out of this forest now?"

"Uh, sure, let's go," Melony nodded.

They began to walk now, and with only a few steps through trees, the group was distracted by the glowing coming from one of the larger trees of the forest.

"What is it?" Sera spoke with a tone of awe.

"I have no clue," Melony's eyes were wide.

"Me either," Kelly stared, her Pokemon having the same amazed expression as her own.

There was a vine curling around the tree, climbing up it and even draping in some of the branches of the other trees. Growing from the vine were bright, neon purple flowers that glowed, and shimmered, illuminating the area around them.

"They're beautiful," Melony said, as the three females walked up to the vine.

Sera touched one of the flowers. "Would it be alright to pull one, you think?"

"I don't see what it would hurt, except that they might be poisonous or something," Xander was standing behind the girls, though he seemed nowhere near as interested as they were.

"They're so different from any flower I've ever seen," Kelly said, gently placing a finger on one of the sparkling petals.

"The roses at the beginning of the forest sparkled, but it was nothing like this," Sera said.

"I bet this is a trait that you can only find in this forest. It seems like it would be pretty rare to me," Xander said, plucking one of the flowers. "Here ya go, Sera. There's my apology," he handed Sera the flower and she grinned.

"Thank you, Xander," she spoke in a sweet voice. Her smiling face then turned to a look of disarray. "I hear something. Listen."

The group listened, and a loud whimpering could be heard from behind the trees that were in front of them.

"It sounds like a Pokemon. I'm going to go check on it," Xander said, taking a random ball off of his belt. He walked cautiously towards the trees, and knelt when he noticed what it was. He reappeared in front of the group a moment later with an injured Poochyena pup.

"Aww..." Sera squealed, running up to Xander. "What's wrong with it?"

"Uhh... It seems to be badly injured... Might've got attacked by a bigger Pokemon. It seems really young," Xander said.

The pup had a series of bite marks on its side, and its foot had a bite wound. It was still letting out whimpers, though they were becoming softer.

"Can I hold it?" Sera asked, holding her hands out. "I want it."

Xander gingerly handed over the puppy, and Sera cradled it like a baby.

"Awww... We've got to get to the next town and to a Pokemon center," Sera whined, petting the injured Pokemon.

"We do need to," Kelly said, grabbing Zaye when she tried to get too close to the pup. "Zaye, it's hurt. You gotta leave it alone," she petted her Togetic.

"Let's go, and let's try our best to hurry, for the Poochyena's sake," Melony said.

"Hold on," Sera knelt when she felt the Pokemon begin to shake in her arms. She gently held the pokemon with one arm, and pulled a dark colored blanket out of her bag. "Let's wrap you up in this." She wrapped the Pokemon up, and continued to cradle it.

"Be careful with the poor puppy, Sera," Xander said, watching as the little girl worked on wrapping the Pokemon up so that its leg wouldn't be harmed.

"I know," Sera said. "There!" she stood up, with everything back in place, and the Poochyena wrapped up like a baby-doll.

"We need to hurry up. It looks like it's in really bad condition," Kelly noted, her silver eyes full of worry for the baby pokemon.

The group walked at a pace that was between walking in sprinting, barely noticing the twigs that lined the ground, or when they had to climb over a giant log that blocked the direction that they were traveling in.

"Do we even know that we're going the right way?" Sera's tone was nothing less than pure panic.

"No, not really, but Sera, don't panic. We'll save the Poochyena," Melony spoke in a voice that was none-too-reassuring, as if she was trying to reassure herself.

"The exit to the forest is right there. Not sure if it's the right exit, but it's an exit, and if it's not, then we'll still be near a Pokemon center," Xander pointed to an opening in what had seemed to be endless trees, and everyone in the group apart from Xander sighed in relief.

"It's going to be okay, little puppy. You'll be fine, soon," Sera patted the Pokemon's head, and continued towards the exit.

Nightor was a dreary town. It was lined by plant life that consisted of weeping willows, and more extremely tall trees. Vines from the willows hung into the town, which consisted of four normal houses, a building that was half Pokemart, half Pokecenter, and an odd looking building with four pillars on the front of it, and a giant black orb that resembled the attack Shadow Ball on the tip of it's pointed roof. The streets of Nightor were made of dark stones, and there were four small yellow lanterns on posts that lit the streets of Nightor. It was too bad that the lamps were out. The only lights in town of Nightor were a single light shining from the pokecenter, and the glow of the flower that was in Sera's hair. The glow from the flower seemed to be fading though.

"I don't like this town too much. It looks like a ghost town," Kelly said.

"It's kinda creepy," Melony commented.

"I'm sure it looks better in the day light," Xander said.

"Doubt the sunlight even comes through," Kelly said, her eyes on the way that the trees met together over Nightor, blocking the moonlight. It would probably do the same for sunlight.

"Pokemon Center!" Sera snapped. The small girl didn't seem to care too much about the melancholy of Nightor. She only cared about the injured puppy that she held in her arms.

"Okay, you're right, Sera. Pokemon Center," Xander nodded.

They entered the Pokemon center to be greeted by Nurse Joy, who spoke in a quiet voice.

"There are trainers here sleeping. We have one room available, with two sets of bunkbeds. Will this be alright?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Uhm, sure, but we need this Pokemon to be taken care of," Sera held out the injured Poochyena.

"Oh my... Do you have any idea what happened to it?" Nurse Joy asked, taking the Poochyena from Sera.

"No, we don't. We simply found it in Solace Forest," Xander shook his head as he spoke.

"Okay, well, I'll tend to it right away. Do any of your other Pokemon need any assistance that a good night's rest won't cure?" Nurse Joy asked.

"No, I don't think so," Melony said, thinking that Dahlia would be perfectly fine after a good night's rest.

"Okay. Just go up the stairs and to the room with a door open," Nurse Joy pointed to a set of wooden stairs. "Enjoy your stay."

The four walked up the stairs, and found their room. It was a plain room, with only two sets of bunk beds, and a table.

All bags were placed on the table, and Kelly and Sera claimed top bunks, leaving Xander and Melony on the bottom bunks.

"First night together, as traveling buddies. It's been a really long day," Melony said, after everyone had used the tiny bathroom to change into pajamas, and they were laying down with the light out.

"It has been a long day," Xander said, yawning.

"I hope that Poochyena's okay," Sera whined.

"I agree with Sera," Kelly said, also yawning.

"Can't wait for tomorrow," Melony mumbled, her eyes closing.

"You got a gym battle," Kelly stated, her voice slightly slurred from sleepiness.

"I do... Hope I can win..." Melony sighed.

"I have faith in you..." Xander's voice drifted off as he spoke, and within a few seconds, everyone was fast asleep.

**Author's Note: **This chapter was kind of short, but I wanted to break down Solace Forest into two chapters so it wouldn't be one painfully long chapter. I know the last part is very plain, but it's basically them trying to have a conversation before sleep and failing. Hope you liked the chapter. :)

Also, thank everyone soooooo much for all of the reviews. I didn't think that my story would get that many reviews. :)


	5. Earning the Zora Badge

**Author's Note: **I'm probably updating this too fast, and if my reviewers want me to slow down with it, I don't mind you telling me so. Yes, I am a loser, who, when she can't spend time with her boyfriend, she has nothing at all to do in life, because, it is Summer break for two more weeks, and then on to eleventh grade. And then there won't be as many updates, because I know people who have had my algebra II with trigonometry teacher, and I will be getting 100+ math problems a day, and I will be bogged down with chemistry and psychology notes to study, so... Not as much writing for me when school gets back in session. Any, I'm rambling, so onto the chapter. Also, if I ever get the chapter number wrong on the story, feel free to point it out, because I almost did this yesterday.

And once again, I don't own Pokemon, and thank you to all of my awesome reviewers! =]

Also, I will warn that this chapter might be longer than the rest.

**Chapter Five: Earning the Zora Badge**

A loud, high-pitched, puppy's yipping awoke Melony, and even though it was early morning, darkness still shrouded the room and the world outside the window.

"Hmmm," Melony let out an annoyed groan. "Someone, shut the dog up..." she mumbled groggily, throwing a pillow off the bed, failing to even come close to the source of the barking.

"Why... Is there a dog barking?" Kelly whined, her voice cracking from tiredness. She opened her silver eyes only for a moment, began to dozed back off, and then groaned in annoyance as well. "Stop barking, doggie..." She mumbled, half asleep.

Xander let out a snore that was interrupted by him snapping awake. "The heck?" he was the first to notice the small poochyena with a bandage on its front right leg, hopping to attempt to get on the top bunk with Sera.

"Sera, wake up and..." he voice faded as he let out a yawn. "Get Poochyena..." he sighed the rest of his sentence.

"Hm? Five more minutes..." Sera mumbled from the top bunk, her face buried into the pillows.

"Get the dog, Sera," Melony mumbled, still groggily, her normally bright eyes not the least bit bright now.

Kelly let out something that could be a mumble or a groan, but if she had said anything, it was something incoherent.

Xander growled in annoyance when Sera didn't make a move to get Poochyena, and throwing the blankets back, he got up, gently scooped the puppy up in his arms, and put it on Sera's bed.

Poochyena began licking Sera in the face, letting out an occasional yip of happiness.

"Hmmm?" Sera sighed and opened her eyes. Her face brightened at the sight of the Poochyena, and she was suddenly wide awake. She sat up, and hugged the Poochyena, making sure not let her arms get on its wounds. "You're okay!" Sera squealed.

Melony let out a tired sigh, and sat up, running her fingers through her short hair. "Looks like sleep is unfortunately over for the night, isn't it?"

"Looks like it," Kelly's voice was finally clear, as she sat up, staring blankly at the floor.

"Dang, you two have some severe bed head," Xander grinned at Kelly and Melony.

"Oh, do we now?" Kelly spoke in a sarcastic tone, giving Xander a wry look. "Maybe it's because we just woke up..." Kelly's eyes went to her two pokemon, who had slept in the bed with her. Both were still fast asleep, cuddled up together.

"Attitude, much?" Xander arched a brow, running his fingers through his bangs.

"Let's not try and start arguments with everyone but me this morning, Xander. It's too early," Melony said, the tone of her voice a mixture of annoyance and tiredness. She then rolled over, off the bed, and onto her feet. She wobbled over to the table, grabbed her bag, and headed for the bathroom. "I call the bathroom first!" she spoke loudly, through the closed door.

"Squir?" Izumi poked her head out of her shell, a confused look on her face. "Squirr?" Her eyes widened when she saw that Melony wasn't beside her any more.

"Don't worry, Izumi. Melony just went to get dressed," Xander smiled at the tiny turtle.

"Squirr..." Izumi whined, not seeming happy about Melony being gone. She slowly let her small, pale blue limbs come out of her shell, pushing herself up into a sitting position. The tiny turtle's mouth was curled downward slightly, and her eyes held a shimmer of sadness.

"You don't like it when you're not right beside your trainer, do you?" Xander asked.

"Squirtle..." Izumi shook her head.

"Charger used to be like that when he was an Eevee. I'm sure you'll grow out of it," Xander spoke reassuringly. He thought of going to sit beside the pokemon, but figured with her personality, that would probably make her uncomfortable.

"Xander, do you think I could keep this Poochyena?" Sera inquired, leaning over her bunk to look down at Xander.

"Uhhh. I don't see why not. Why don't you catch it and add it to your pokedex so that you know what gender it is?" Xander asked. He stood up, stretched his limbs, and peered over at Sera.

Sera had the Poochyena curled up in her lap, licking the palm of her hand.

"I don't have a Pokedex," Sera pouted.

"Well, then catch it and wait for Melony to come out and she can tell you what gender it is," Xander shrugged.

Sera grinned broadly. "Kay," she said. With her arms wrapped around the Poochyena, and Hiro still around her neck, asleep as usual, Sera jumped off of the top bunk, and dug in her bag for a black ball with yellow and red markings.

"Fancy. Rich brat, maybe?" Xander arched a brow at Sera, one side of his mouth curled into the smirk that he kept on his face so often now.

"No! My parents just wanted the best for the pokemon that I catch," Sera stuck her tongue out at Xander. "Now, Poochyena, how about joining me and Hiro?" She placed Poochyena on the ground and held up the luxury ball.

Poochyena yipped excitedly and when Sera threw the ball, Poochyena jumped into the golden light that flashed from the ball. It wiggled three times, and then the center flashed golden.

"Yay! Poochyena is mine!" Sera picked up the ball, and kissed the top of it.

"So you caught the Poochyena?" Melony walked out of the bathroom, her hair wet. She was fully dressed and ready to continue her journey and take on her first gym battle.

"Yep, so if I let it out of the ball, you think you could tell me what gender it is?" Sera asked. "Please?"

"Alright," Melony removed her pokedex from her bag, and when Poochyena was let out of its ball, she opened her dex.

_Poochyena, the Bite Pokemon. It chases its prey until the victim becomes exhausted. However, it turns tail if the prey strikes back._

"If my pokedex is right, then this Poochyena is a girl," Melony smiled. She then walked over to Izumi and picked her up. "I'm sorry I left you unattended to," she spoke in a cutesy voice to her Squirtle, kissing her on the forehead.

"Squirtle, Squirtle..." Izumi beamed at her trainer, nuzzling into her chest.

"Okay, if Poochyena is a girl, then I think I'll call her Luna," Sera smiled, kneeling to pet the puppy pokemon. After a minute of petting it, she returned her to her ball in a flash of sparkling light.

"Anyone else think that it's time for everyone to get dressed get this show on the road?" Melony asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Uhh, yeah," Xander nodded.

"Yep, and I call the shower now," Kelly hopped down off of the bed, landing on her feet. She swiped her bag from the table, jogged to the bathroom, and shut the door.

It still appeared to be night outside once everyone was dressed, and ready to go, but the clock on the wall read 10:00am.

"Why is it still so dark outside?" Sera's round face held a worried expression.

"I don't think it's gonna get much lighter than that, probably because the trees are blocking the sunlight," Xander spoke, his voice sounding indifferent and flat as always.

"I don't like this town in the least bit, so I think we should just get the gym battle over with and head for the next town," Melony said, her eyes not even on the window, but on the ground. She was starting to get worried at the thought of battling a gym. She had two Pokemon, and she hadn't trained Izumi much at all, and she hadn't used Dahlia in battle yet, so she didn't know if Dahlia would even obey her.

"You worried about your first gym battle?" Kelly asked, placing a hand on Melony's shoulder. "I'm sure Izumi can beat ghost pokemon."

"I've got a Ghastly as well, but I've never used her in battle, so I'm not even sure that she will obey me," Melony said, her eyes still focused on the ground.

She jumped back a bit when Izumi hopped off of her head, and landed in front of her, facing her. "Squirtle, squirtle..." Izumi spoke in what seemed to be her best effort at an encouraging tone, though she didn't seem very self-confident herself, she seemed to promise Melony that she would win the battle.

"Okay, Izumi, I have faith in you," Melony's eyes narrowed in determination, and she picked the Squirtle up and hugged her.

The group walked down stairs to be greeted first by a man with spiky hair that was such a dark shade of blue, that it would look black if it wasn't for the florescent lighting of the pokecenter. His eyes were two different colored, one a dark shade of sapphire blue, the other a sparkling green color. He wore a dark blue jacket, a black t-shirt, ripped black jeans, worn tennis shoes, and what appeared to be a gym badge around his neck. He stood a couple of inches taller than Xander, and he had an expression on his face that would give anyone the impression that he was full of himself.

Behind the man were two smaller girls, who appeared to be twins, and related to the man.

One of the girls had short, messy, dark blue hair, though not as dark as the man's, and bright green eyes that matched the shade of the man's eye. Her skin was pale, but not a sickly pale. She wore black shorts, a white sweatshirt with a green tanktop underneath, a long, fluffy blue scarf, a blue beret, and blue sneakers that were in better condition than the man's. A moon hairpin held back her bangs, though the clip wasn't that noticeable on count of the hat.

The other girl had long, flowing blue hair the same color as her sister's, with a sun hairpin holding her bangs. Her eyes matched her sister's, but her skin was a dark, tanned color. She wore a black sweatshirt with a blue tanktop underneath, white shorts, a green baseball cap, and green sneakers. A green necklace with green dogtags hung from the girl's neck.

"Hey, more trainers leaving to go take on the gym?" the male asked.

"I am," Melony said. "Are you the gym leader?" She didn't feel intimidated by the man, but she knew that if he was the first gym leader, she would feel intimidated by him in a minute.

"Nope. I'm the sixth gym leader. The gym leader of Nightor is some smokin' hot chick with pink hair and a love for the spirits, or something like that. Only met her twice," the male explained. "The name's Zane Glice, and these are my little twin sisters, Nanda and Onna," he wrapped his arms around the two girls.

"Oh... Well, my name is Melony Chast, and I'm here to eventually take on the Nicor League," Melony introduced herself, and then patted Izumi. "And this is my Squirtle, Izumi."

Izumi buried her face into Melony's chest, too bashful to introduce herself.

"My name is Kelly, I'm a coordinator who joined up with them in Solace Forest," Kelly introduced herself. "And these two are Zaye and Nova."

"Tic!" Zaye waved cheerfully.

Nova eyed the three Glice siblings cautiously, ready to protect Kelly at all costs.

"The name's Xander. Pokemon trainer," Xander waved, still not caring too much.

"I'm Sera, and the sleeping Dratini is Hiro! He sleeps a lot," Sera introduced herself.

"Hey, why don't we have a battle between me and Onna, and Melony and Xander?" Nanda, the short haired one, asked.

"That sounds awesome!" Onna grinned broadly, a pokeball in her hand.

"What do you say, Xander? Battle with me?" Melony asked. She liked the sound of it, she just hoped that she didn't get too badly beat by the twins.

"Alright, let's go outside, where there's space to battle," Xander nodded.

"Yay! I get to see Xander and Melony battle together!" Sera skipped outside, following the group of people.

"Okay, we'll all use one Pokemon a piece, how about that?" Nanda suggested.

"That works," Xander shrugged.

"Let's do this," Melony agreed.

"Alright, go Tide!" Nanda threw a ball and sent out a Buizel.

"You're first, Donny," Onna sent out an Aipom with a leather glove on his hand.

"Dagger, do your thing!" Xander sent out Dagger.

"Dahlia, let's go!" Melony sent out Dahlia, who almost turned around to lick Melony, before realzing she was in a battle.

"Dagger, let's go and show that Buizel your Night Slash!" Xander commanded, and Dagger nodded, before dashing at full speed, his pincers shrouded in a dark material.

"Tide, dodge with-" Nanda didn't have time to finish her sentence before Dagger collided with Tide, slashing twice with his pincers.

Tide flew back, crashing into the ground. She was motionless for only a moment before hopping up.

"Aqua Jet!" Nanda commanded.

"Night Shade and stop her!" Melony commanded Dahlia to make a move, and it worked.

Dahlia created a giant mirage in front of Tide, freezing her with fear, and then licked her, running a large, ghastly tongue over her face.

Tide fell back, unable to battle.

"That wasn't fair! You double-teamed my pokemon!" Nanda snapped, returning Tide back into the ball.

"There's no rule against that," Xander shrugged.

"Don't worry, I got 'em, Sis," Onna smirked. "Go with an Ice Punch on the Ghastly, Donny!"

"Aipom!" Donny grinned the signature Aipom grin and charged at Dahlia, ice cloaking his fist.

Dahlia's cheeks puffed up, and just as Donny's fist collided with her, a massive explosion hit all three pokemon on the field.

"Stupid Ghastly!" Melony snapped, returning the exploded Ghastly.

"Melony, you knocked out Dagger with that," Xander said, trying to mask the annoyance in his voice, and failing. He returned the fainted Scizor.

"Donny, I'm sorry," Onna sighed, returning the fainted Aipom.

"Ghastly's aren't supposed to explode, are they?" Nanda asked, staring at the damaged field.

"I have no idea, but this Ghastly sure loves to explode," Melony said, staring at the ball in her hand.

"Ghastly's can explode," Zane spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's an egg move that comes from a Ghastly or its evolutions breeding with a Drifloon or Drifblim that knows Explosion."

"Are you sure about that?" Nanda asked, obviously not believing her brother.

"Yep. I've met someone with an exploding Gengar, the final evolution of Ghastly," Zane spoke, and continued to have the same cocky look on his face that seemed to never fade.

"Melony, when you battle this guy, make sure your pokemon beat his pokemon to a pulp," Xander said, his eyes narrowing to a glare.

"Uhhh, whatever you say," Melony shrugged.

"My gym's a dual type gym, so all of my Pokemon have two types, so good luck beating that," Zane scoffed. "And I'm not going to go easy on you just cause of your pretty little face," he added, his smirk turning to a grin that showed shining white teeth.

"Didn't ask you to," Melony said, rolling her eyes. "I've got to get Dahlia healed and get to my next gym battle."

"Alright," Zane nodded. "Sisters, I must get back to my gym before a trainer beats me there," he waved.

"Bye, Zane!" Nanda waved, and then turned back to Xander and Melony. "I think we should definitely do a double battle again when we cross paths again."

"I agree with my sister! Even though I don't know if it was fair, either, it was a great battle!" Onna spoke in a loud voice that held a cheery tone, making it not sound that obnoxious.

"Alright, and next time, I won't use Dahlia first, unless I can get her to stop exploding," Melony said.

After this, the twins departed, following their brother, and after Dahlia was quickly revived by Nurse Joy, the group walked over to the gym.

The door was a heavy metal door that took Melony and Xander together to open. They were immediately stopped by an older male with brownish-gray hair and a mustache. "No, all of you cannot enter! Challenger must enter alone to do the challenge by herself! I come get other three when battle has started!" The guy spoke quickly, pushing everyone back.

"Alright! Don't be so pushy!" Kelly snapped in annoyance.

"Yeah, back off," Xander growled a deep growl from inside his throat.

"Okay, then I'm the challenger," Melony said, her eyes narrowed. She tried to keep a collected posture, and it didn't seem to be failing too bad.

"Okay, enter!" the man moved, Melony stepped in, and the door shut with a loud metal clanging.

"This might not be safe," Melony patted Izumi's head, and recalled her.

"Hello, see if you can guess which mirror is the right me if you want to proceed!" a voice came on over an intercom, and the lights flashed on inside the gym. Melony found herself surrounded by mirrors with the image of a girl with pale pink hair that fell elegantly down to her hips. Her eyes were narrowed, but it was still obvious that they were a dark green, with even darker black lashes. Her lips were painted black, and curled into a devious smirk. Her body was the perfect hourglass figure, and she wore a lacy black corset that was a bit revealing, and a long black skirt that covered her feet. Her hands were covered by white lacy gloves, and they rested on her hips.

"Is this all you got for me?" Melony smirked back at the image in the mirror, not intimidated by her at all. She resembled a rich-brat acting tough, but Melony assumed, that in the end, she would do nothing but cry, smearing her perfectly penciled-on eyeliner.

The girl laughed maniacal laugh that faded into some kind of distorted snorting noise. "Watch was happens when you pick the wrong mirror!" the woman snapped, her eyes now widened with insanity.

"You're... Not right in the head..." Melony uttered, wishing that one of her friends were with her. She wasn't intimidated, she was terrified. Slowly, she walked up to one of the mirrors, and touched it, her entire body shivering in fear.

"WRONG!" the voice boomed loudly, followed by the same maniacal laughter.

Lights began to flash every color of the rainbow, and loud sirens filled the room, causing pain to fill Melony's head.

"Okay! I understand that I am wrong!" Melony squealed, shutting her eyes and clapping her hands over her ears. She was glad now that she had thought of returning Izumi before starting the challenge.

The sirens died down, and the lighting faded back to the pale white that it once was.

Melony let out a sigh, and wiped tears from her eyes. She hadn't realized when she had started crying, and she couldn't remember whether it was from being so scared, or the pain of the sirens and rapidly flashing lights. She picked another mirror, and everything went black, and silent. Melony let out a whimper, having no idea at of what to do.

The maniacal laughter started, and when the lights came on, Melony found herself on a black battlefield, neon lights forming the edges and center of it.

The gym leader stood before her, and Xander, Kelly, and Sera were sitting on a bench.

"Okay, you win!" the gym leader snapped. "My name is Nikkia, and I am your first gym challenge!"

"Uhm, I can beat you, no problem," Melony spoke softly, taking out the Pokeball that contained Dahlia. Her voice held no confidence, and it cracked a couple of times as she spoke.

"Melony, have you been crying?" Xander sounded angry, and he glared fiercely at Nikkia. "What did you do to her?"

"She's just a baby. Afraid of a little siren, that's all," Nikkia purred, taking out a green and black ball, a dusk ball. "We each use two Pokemon, switching is allowed. Let the battle..." Nikkia paused for a second, "BEGIN!"

"Go, Dahlia, don't fail me," Melony whispered, her voice wavering. She threw the ball and Dahlia came out, and stuck her tongue out at Melony.

"Let's go, Duskull!" Nikkia threw the ball, and a Duskull appeared in a flash of violet colors.

_Duskull, the Requiem Pokemon. If it finds bad children that won't listen to their parents, it will spirit them away... Or so it is said. _Melony's pokedex spoke as she took it out and aimed it at Duskull.

"Duskull, Shadow Sneak," Nikkia purred, making some waving motion with her hand.

"Skull..." Duskull disappeared, and reappeared before Melony could even think of a command for Dahlia.

Dahlia was hit, and was hurled backwards, but stopped before she hit the wall.

"Night Shade and then lick, Dahlia!" Melony commanded.

"Duskull, Astonish," Nikkia purred, right as Dahlia started moving.

Dahlia appeared as a mirage in front of Duskull, and when she went to use her Lick, Duskull let out the scream of a banshee.

Dahlia froze, her eyes wide, a frown on her face.

"Now show it your Night Shade..." Nikkia purred.

"Hypnosis..." Melony's voice came out as a whine, as she realized that the battle wasn't looking so good for her. Melony tightly shut her eyes, but opened one eye when she heard Sera letting out a squeal of glee.

Duskull was in a trance, and Dahlia seemed unharmed.

"Thank you so much, Dahlia! Now finish this with Lick," Melony was no longer intimidated, or scared. She had faith in her Pokemon.

Dahlia laughed a distorted ghost laugh, and then licked Duskull, and the battle was over as Duskull fell to the ground.

Nikkia growled in frustration, and then the growl turned to a cackle. She recalled Duskull, and threw her next ball onto the field. "Banette, you're up!"

_Banette, the Marionette Pokemon and the evolved form of Shuppet. This Pokemon developed from an abandoned doll that amassed a grudge. It is seen in dark alleys._

"Banette, use Faint Attack," Nikkia cried with insane happiness.

"Dahlia, dodge!" Melony cried, knowing that it was too late. Dahlia was hit, and knocked into the ground, unable to battle.

"You did an amazing job," Melony sighed, recalling Dahlia. "Izumi, let's finish this!" Melony let Izumi out, and the normally shy Squirtle had a determined expression on her face.

"Oh, the first non-Ghost type on the field," Nikkia chuckled. "Shadow Ball, go!"

Banette smirked through its zipper mouth, and began to charge up a Shadow Ball.

"Water Gun, Izumi, and get rid of that Shadow Ball," Melony commanded.

"Squir!" Izumi nodded, and shot out a rapid spout of water, hitting the Shadow Ball and causing Banette's attack to backfire.

"Bannn..." Banette let out a whine, but shook off the attack.

"Nice going, but it's nowhere near good enough to defeat my Banette. Use Shadow Sneak, now!" Nikkia cried, her voice fading to maniacal laughter.

"Wow, she's creepy..." Melony mumbled to herself. "Izumi, use your Withdraw."

Izumi obeyed, and right as Banette collided with her, she withdrew into her shell, avoiding the massive damage that could have been caused. Before Banette could get away, Izumi's head came out of her shell, and her mouth chomped down on Banette's head.

"Baaa!" Banette cried out in pain, and it was over as Izumi finished off her combo with blasting herself into the air with a Water Gun.

Banette crashed into the ground, and when the water cleared, and Izumi landed on all fours, Banette was unable to battle.

"What?" Nikkia called back Banette, and stared wide eyed at the field. "You and your puny Pokemon won? And now that stupid Squirtle is evolving?"

"Yes, we won, and wait- What?" Melony's triumphant pose disappeared when she noticed that Izumi began to glow, and then change, growing ears, and fluffy fur on her tail.

"Wartortle..." Izumi stood, looking down at her now taller self. Her ears twitched, and her tail waved back and forth slowly.

"Congrats, Melony, Izumi evolved and your about to get your first badge," Kelly sprinted over to Melony and Izumi.

"Togetic!" Zaye cheered, flying over and grasping Izumi's fluffy tail.

"Wow, she's got fluffiness now," Sera said, seeming to admire Izumi's tail and ears.

"Tortle...?" Izumi stared at Zaye playing with her tail, but didn't try to stop her.

"Congratulations, I guess. You earn the Zora badge," Nikkia walked over, and handed Melony a small badge that was in the shape of a black voodoo doll.

"Thanks," Melony smiled, trying to contain her excitement.

"As a bonus, do you want me to teach Dahlia, as you called it, Shadow Ball?" Nikkia asked, placing her hands on her hips. She seemed like a totally different person than before.

"Uh, sure," Melony shrugged, handing Nikkia Dahlia's ball.

Nikkia turned around, let Dahlia out of the ball, and after a few seconds, recalled Dahlia, and gave the ball back to Melony. "All done. Now run along, children. I must get prepared for the next challenger."

Melony nodded, and after-with some effort- picking Izumi up in her arms, the group left the gym, a bright smile on Melony's face. She was doing it. She was actually going to follow her mom's legacy.

**Author's Note: **I'm proud of this chapter, even though it's long. Also, to everyone who hasn't seen their OC introduced, over the next three-four chapters, all OC's that have been submitted will be introduced, I promise.


	6. Companions, Embarrassment, and Rivals

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the late update and all, but I had company, and I was sick for a couple of days. But, now I'm writing again. :)

**Chapter Four: Companions, Embarrassment, and Rivals**

"Congratulations on your victory," Nurse Joy smiled brightly at Melony, taking the two Pokeballs that contained Izumi and Dahlia.

The group was currently back at the pokemon center in Nightor, getting Melony's pokemon healed, and trying to get some information on the next town, and the route to the next town.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Melony nodded. "Do you know where we need to travel now?"

"Oh, of course. You exit Nightor to the North, and you'll enter the Spore Path," Nurse Joy began to explain. "After traveling down the Spore Path, you'll be in a very small village at the base of the mountain, Mt. Keevo, the smallest mountain in Nicor. The village is called Kefii Village."

"Is there a contest there?" Sera asked, her eyes wide. She wanted so bad to participate in her first contest.

"Yeah, it would be nice to find a contest hall," Kelly agreed, resting her chin on Nova's head, Zaye sitting on top of her own head.

"Tic!" Zaye clapped.

"Oh, actually there is a contest there," Nurse Joy eyed Kelly and Sera. "Are you two planning on participating?"

"Yep!" Sera grinned, crossing her arms in a proud way. Hiro was currently in his pokeball, as the weight of the Dratini was starting to become painful.

"Yeah, we are," Kelly said, and both of her pokemon nodded in agreement.

"Piplup, Piplup, Piplup!" Melony turned when she heard a Pokemon's voice, and saw a small penguin pokemon, Piplup running, a happy expression on its round face.

Soon after, the doors of the pokemon center opened, and two female trainers came running after it.

The trainers looked to be close to the same age, though one looked a bit younger, but they didn't look related.

The older looking trainer had black hair, braided down her back, with a silver streak towards the front, and light brown eyes. Her skin was an average white tone, and she looked to be taller than Melony. She was wearing a black t-shirt and a blue jacket, both of which came down to show a bit of her belly. She had on blue capri pants, black leggings, and blue tennis shoes. There was a Sneasel on the girl's shoulder, holding on with long claws.

The other girl had shoulder length, chestnut colored hair, and olive green eyes. Her skin was pale, and she seemed to be about the same height as Melony. She wore a blue beret with a silver pokeball pin on it, and a blue shirt with a silver pokeball on it, along with a blue jacket. She had black pants, a silver bag around her waist. Her shoes were white, and there was a white scarf around her neck.

"Please, stop running, Aqua," the brown haired girl spoke with a very formal tone, that still held either worry or frustration in it. She knelt down, grabbed the piplup, and returned it. Once she stood, she noticed the group. "Oh, did Aqua cause you four any problems?"

"No, not really," Melony shrugged. She had thought the little pokemon was cute.

"Okay, that is good. My name is Lauren Silverfeather," she smiled, a cool, collected smile. "My friend is Nicole Sanders, but she goes by Nico."

"Oh, hi!" the other girl, Nico, spoke for the first time.

"Sneasel!" the sneasel on Nico's shoulder waved at the group.

"This is Frosty," Nico introduced the sneasel.

The group made their introductions, moving over to the sofa to wait for Izumi and Dahlia to be healed.

"So, you're all traveling together, pretty much?" Nico asked, her eyes trailing from one member of the group to another.

"Yeah, pretty much. I met Xander and Sera on the boat, and we met Kelly in Solace Forest," Melony said. When she glanced at Xander, she noticed that her eyes were on Nico, instead of on the ground like they normally were. For a moment, she thought she felt a pang of jealousy, but she shook it off. Why would she be jealous of who Xander was staring at? She didn't feel anything for him.

"Oh. Nico and I met up when we got here. She helped me chase Aqua down, even though it was late at night. This morning, she helped me chase him down once more," Lauren spoke with something like a purr to her voice, and Melony wondered if she came from some kind of rich background.

"Does the piplup not like you?" Kelly inquired. "Or is it like Zaye here, just playful?" Kelly picked up the togetic that was sitting in her lap, and hugged her.

"Tic, tic!" Zaye seemed very happy to be getting affection from Kelly.

"I am not sure. He is playful, sometimes, but I think that he is just excited to be in a different region," Lauren said.

"I just know he can run pretty fast. It's tiring to chase after him," Nico said, shaking her head. "I couldn't catch him for awhile, and eventually, Frosty had to use Ice Beam on him to slow him down the first time," Nico said.

Nurse Joy approached now, with two Pokeballs, and a small box that contained white masks to cover the mouth and nose.

"What are the masks for?" Melony asked, after taking back her two Pokeballs. She let Izumi out, and the Wartortle seemed frightened by all the people around, so she snuggled into Melony's chest.

"Oh, the Spore Path is the only place in the world where you can find the rarest grass pokemon of every region. It's home to Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, and Turtwig," Nurse Joy explained. "It is also habitat to the dangerous evolutions of the four. Venusaur can release deadly spores, while Meganium's are soothing, but thanks to some of the deadly spores, trainers and there pokemon must where masks when on the Spore Path."

Nurse Joy passed out masks, even giving them to the pokemon that were out of their balls. She then gave each trainer five other masks, all of different sizes. "Even other grass Pokemon can be affected by the spores, so if any of you decide to use a grass pokemon, please put a mask on them as well."

The group thanked Nurse Joy, and exited to the area behind the pokecenter, where the crater from Dahlia's explosion still was.

"You might want to go ahead and put a mask on Dahlia, Melony, since you'll probably use her," Xander suggested.

"Whatever," Melony didn't mean to come off as rude, or that's what she told herself. She pulled out Dahlia's ball, though, and let the Ghastly out.

"Okay! Don't get snappy with me," Xander's voice almost came out as a whine.

"Here, Dahlia, Izumi, we have to put these on," Melony knelt, and slipped the mask over Izumi's head with ease. When she put the mask on Dahlia, though, Dahlia's cheeks began to swell.

"Don't you dare explode because you don't want to wear that mask, Dahlia," Melony spoke in a stern voice, wiggling her finger at the Ghastly. She returned the Ghastly and picked Izumi up, still with little effort.

Melony nearly fell when someone grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away from the crowd, around the corner of the pokemon center. She turned to see Kelly, who had her hands on her hips now. "What's up with this?" Melony snapped.

"You like Xander back, don't you?" Kelly smirked at Melony. "You're jealous because Xander was checking Nicole out, am I right?"

"What? No! Of course I'm not jealous! Xander can look at whoever he pleases!" Melony's face turned redder and redder the more she spoke. She could feel her face burning.

"Melony, I'm not gonna say anything, I just wanted to see if I was right," Kelly placed a hand on Melony's shoulder. "Let's put our masks on and head for the Spore Path now."

Melony nodded, still blushing fiercely. "Izumi..." Melony whined, hugging her pokemon.

"War, wartortle..." Izumi hugged her back, patting her upper arm with one fist, as if to tell her that it would be okay.

Melony lifted Izumi up, placing her on her shoulder, and then proceeded to slip the mask over her head.

Once Kelly had her mask on, the two returned to the group.

"What was that about?" Xander arched a brow.

"She helped me tie my mask," Melony said the first thing that came to mind, glad that Xander couldn't see how bad she was blushing.

"The masks don't tie..." Xander stared at Melony like she was crazy now.

"Shh..." Melony put a finger to her lips. "Let's not talk about it."

"Ya know, you seem kinda off right now, Melony, but I still love ya," Melony couldn't help but notice, for the first time, that Xander's grin, that was now on his face, was adorable. Xander threw his arm around her shoulders, but Melony was too out of it to pull back.

"Are ya gonna pull away from me?" Xander arched a brow, his grin widening more by the second.

"Uh," Melony was out of it for only a moment more, before she realized what was going on. "Yeah, back off, Xander," Melony spoke slowly, but pulled away, ducking under Xander's arm. She noticed the sparkle in Kelly's silver eyes, and glared at her.

Kelly snickered, and turned away before any one else noticed her expression. "Xander, you need to get your mask on before Melony becomes entranced in the beauty of your smile."

"Oh, yeah, mask," Xander's grin faded as he put the mask over his mouth, pulling the string over his head, and fixing his hair. "Wait, repeat what you said?" One of Xander's brows raised slightly.

"Ohhh... Melony likes Xander back!" Sera's eyes sparkled, and by the way her cheeks were raised, it was obvious that her mask hid a huge grin. "That's so cute!"

"I'm not getting it..." Xander scratched the back of his head. His voice sounded confused, but the slight pink tint to his cheeks and the sparkle in his eyes told everyone that it was all just an act. "What did you and Kelly talk about?" His eyes were on Melony now.

"Uhhhhhh... We- we talked about the, the, uhm, masks... H-how stupid-" Melony stammered, backing away from Xander. Her face was a bright red, almost matching her widened eyes. Kelly interrupted her to stop her stammering.

"Oh, Melony, just tell him what we talked about. He isn't stupid, and he knows you're lying," Kelly's arms were crossed over her chest. Zaye was sitting on her head, fumbling with her own mask, and Nova stood at her ankles.

"We..." Melony's voice faded, and she hid her face behind Izumi's head. She had never felt so mortified in her life. She hadn't ever had much interest in guys, mostly because her dad disapproved of her dating. "Nothing! We need to get going. I don't wanna travel at night!"

Xander let out a sigh, and shrugged. "Alright, Melony, it's what you want. Let's go," Xander nodded towards the exit of Nightor.

"Hey, I dunno if this is the best time to ask, but I was talking to Lauren when all of that was going on, and we wanna know if it would be okay for us to tag along as well?" Nico asked. She had her mask on, and Frosty wasn't in sight.

"Yes, I think it would be excellent to go with you four. I would love to watch the contests and battles that you all go through," Lauren nodded. She had a mask on as well, though one of her hands were subconsciously messing with the string behind her right ear.

"It think it would be fun!" Sera sound in a tone full of glee. "The more the merrier, right?"

"Sounds fine to me," Kelly agreed.

"Sure," Xander shrugged. "I'm going to be the only guy though."

"Uhm, yeah, you two could tag along," Melony said, her nose down hidden by Izumi's head.

"Where did Frosty go, Nico?" Sera asked, looking around for the sneasel.

"Oh, I had to return her, because she slashed her mask off when I put it on her," Nico frowned.

"What are you two? Like, coordinators, trainers, or what?" Melony asked. She had finally moved Izumi away from her face, and was resting her chin on Izumi's head.

"I'm a ranger," Nico spoke proudly. "That's why I wanted to travel with you guys. I'll be able to see more pokemon in battle that way."

"I am a trainer. I have sixteen badges, from Hoenn and Sinnoh, but this time around, I am just exploring the region, and I will give no more reason than that," Lauren said, her eyes sparkling in thought as she spoke.

"Oh, sounds pretty cool," Melony nodded. She felt someone's eyes on her, and she now noticed that she could see through her peripherals that Xander was staring at her.

"You cheered up, Melony?" Xander asked, placing a hand on her back.

Melony could feel the warmth of his hand, even through her jacket, and she stepped away, her face burning again. "Uh, yeah... I guess you know what Kelly and I spoke about, right? She said she wouldn't tell..."

Xander snorted, his eyes sparkling. "Yeah."

"Oh, I know I said I wouldn't tell, but I _had _to. He has the right to know," Kelly said.

"I'll talk to you more about it later... We do need to get going," Xander said, his eyes focused on the sky, noticing that, even through the trees, the sun was visible, slightly.

They were about start walking when a guy with black hair, and clothing that matched shoved past them, pushing Melony into Xander, causing her to drop Izumi.

"Izumi, I'm sorry!" Melony squeaked, kneeling to pick up Izumi, who was struggling on her shell.

"Hey, what the heck was that about?" Xander snapped, his temper flaring instantly. "There was no need to push her like that!"

"And...? What makes you think _I _care?" the male turned away, a smirk on his face. One fang shown through the smirk. "Are you gonna do something about it?"

The male had a Scizor following him, but it wasn't the same color as Dagger. This Scizor was jet black, matching his owner.

Xander growled. "If you're a trainer, then I challenge you to a battle. Each use three Pokemon, got it?"

"Sure... You'll regret it though," the male sighed.

They cleared the battlefield, staying away from the crater that Dahlia had caused earlier.

"Go, Blade," the male spoke in a quiet tone.

The Scizor stepped onto the battlefield, ready to battle.

"Hmph. Charger, you're up!" Xander pulled his mask away from his face, and sent out his Jolteon.

"Iron Head." the male said.

Blade nodded before dashing for Charger, a bright light surrounding his head.

"Shadow Ball and stop him in his tracks!" Xander called.

Charger smirked, the same cocky smirk that Xander sometimes got, and let out a weaker Shadow Ball, but it was enough to stop Blade.

The Scizor tried to keep running into the Shadow Ball, but was eventually knocked back.

"Hmph. Let's just do a one hit KO with Hyper Beam, Blade."

Blade began to charge, and a white light engulfed the field.

"Dig, Charger!" Xander called, shielding his face from the battle.

The light cleared, and there was a hole in the ground where Charger had succeeding in digging.

Blade was left panting, and after a few seconds, was struck by an electrically charged Dig, sending the Scizor flying.

"Nice work, Charger," Xander grinned, but it quickly faded.

Charger had taken a great deal of damage from the Hyper Beam, and was also panting.

Luckily, when Blade hit the ground, he didn't move. The Scizor was unable to battle.

The male snorted, and recalled Blade.

"Charger, you come back as well," Xander recalled the injured Jolteon. "You're up, Angel!"

The Mawile came out of its ball, and twirled around, before winking in a flirtatious manner at Xander. "Mawile!"

"Okay, go Aurian," the male said.

A Lucario appeared on the field now. This pokemon was also a different color, having black instead of blue, and white instead of black colorings.

"Aura Sphere," the male commanded.

"Attract and stop him in his tracks," Xander smirked. Angel was the defensive pokemon of his team, knowing Protect and Attract.

Angel jumped in the air, giggled, and sent hearts flying at Aurian.

The Lucario was readying his hands, when the hearts hit him, and his eyes turned to hearts. "Lucario..." he stared dreamily at Angel.

"Now, use your Flamethrower," Xander commanded.

"Mawile..." Angel smiled, ran over to Aurian, kissed him on the cheek, and then turned around to let her jaws face him. A severe blast of fire came from the jaws, covering the Lucario.

Aurian fell forward, almost landing on Angel, but after a minute of struggle, he was able to get back up. "Cario..." he growled.

"Earthquake," the male commanded.

Aurian growled, and threw a punch forcefully at the ground.

Angel jumped with no command, though, landing on Aurian's shoulder. "Mawile, wile!" Angel wiggled her finger, as if telling Aurian that he messed up.

"Crunch and finish this!" Xander cried out, his eyes narrowed.

"Wile..." Angel purred, before her jaws clamped down on Aurian's head. When Angel moved, the Lucario fell back, unable to battle.

The male sent out a black Charizard next. "This will be the end to your Mawile."

"Do you paint your Pokemon or something, dude, seriously?" Xander arched a brow.

The male scoffed, ignoring the question. "Flame, use Fire Blast!"

The Charizard puffed up, before scorching Angel.

"Wiiiille!" Angel cried, as she was bathed in flames. Once the flames had cleared, she had fainted.

Xander recalled Angel, and sighed. "I'm not going to even give you the joy of killing my Scizor. Back out, Charger, with a nice Thunderbolt."

Charger was back on the field now, and he let out a wicked flash of a Thunderbolt.

It hit, and did major damage, as Flame wobbled afterwards, but it didn't cause him to faint.

"Dragon Pulse," the male spoke calmly.

"Dodge and finish it with Thunder Fang," Xander mocked his calmness, even crossing his arms over his chest in the same position as the male.

Charger obeyed, and with electricity surrounding his mouth, he clamped onto Flame's neck, finishing the battle.

"How could this be?" the male glared at Xander, recalling Flame.

"Because you're an arrogant jerk, and you messed with one of the people that I care about initially," Xander said, kneeling to pet Charger, who was panting horribly.

"Whatever. My name is Sath, by the way, and this won't be the last time you see me," Sath waved, glaring at Xander one last time before heading back in the direction of the Pokemon Center.

"That guy was a jerk," Melony said. She was holding Izumi once more, and the Wartortle looked perfectly fine.

"I know," Xander nodded in agreement. "I need to heal before we go now," he sighed, picking Charger up in his arms.

The group headed for the Pokemon Center of Nightor, hopefully for the last time.


	7. The Spore Path

**Author's Note: **I deeply apologize for the sudden stopping of updates. The week before school starts back is always a very busy week for me, and being sick made it where I would do what I had to do and come home and sleep. I can't write when I'm really sick or if I get a headache, so usually, if I say I'm gonna update, and I don't do it, either one of those two things have occurred, or a teacher decided to pile me down with more than three hours of homework. :/ Also, food poisoning is evil, that's why I've been sick this time. I just thought I would inform everyone of that, so that my readers will know that for future times. Also, _thank you all so much for all the awesome reviews. It makes Munchie happy to know that her story is a bit popular. _

**Chapter Seven: The Spore Path**

"Wow..." Melony breathed from under the mask, her eyes examining the area.

The group was now on the Spore Path, and it was an amazing meadow area that stretched for miles ahead. The grass was bright green, and sparkled with various colors from the spores that filled the air. Nurse Joy had informed the group that the spores weren't dangerous to people as long as they weren't ingested or as long as they didn't enter an open wound.

The plant life of the path was possibly more beautiful than the plant life of Solace Forest. There were trees lining the path that were decorated by either bright, ripened berries and fruits, or huge, multicolored flowers. Huge flowers grew from the ground in clusters, and smaller, pale colored flowers dotted the ground in a more random pattern.

They could see Pokemon walking around, not seeming to notice the trainers that were approaching. The first Pokemon they noticed was a Meganium with a line of four small Chikoritas following her. There was also an Ivysaur snuggled up to a Venusaur, both sleeping. Something green flashed overhead, jumping from one tree to the next and Xander explained that it was probably a Treecko.

"Torterra..." One of the Pokemon, a huge turtle with a scar on its face, appeared from an opening in the trees, blocking the groups path. A huge tree grew on the pokemon's back, and there were multiple bug Pokemon, as well as a tiny Turtwig surrounding the twig.

The Torterra stood firm, his eyes narrowed.

"What do we do?" Melony whispered, her voice unsteady. She was sure that the pokemon could probably take down all of their Pokemon with ease.

"Torterra, can we please get past?" Nico asked, in a slight pleading voice, even though she knew it probably wouldn't help.

Torterra shook its head, moving its entire body in the process. A few bug pokemon fell, and fled, and after a whimper, the Turtwig also fell, tumbling down its mother's back.

"Woah!" Nico moved quick, and caught the Turtwig right as it was about to hit the ground.

"Wig..." Turtwig's voice was high pitched, and full of panic. His small eyes held relief though.

"Here's your baby back, can we pass now?" Nico asked, offering the Turtwig to Torterra.

"Terra..." Torterra nodded, putting its head down so that Nico could place the baby on its head. Once everything was done, the Torterra slowly moved out of the way.

They were left now with a small, red, round bug staring at them, specifically at Sera.

"What's that?" Melony asked.

"It's a Kricketot, one of the many bug pokemon that are useless before they evolve," Xander explained. "It must have been the only pokemon that fell off of Torterra that didn't run."

"It's cute," Sera grinned, though it wasn't visible through the mask. "But... Why is it staring at me?"

"Do you think that it is paralyzed from some of the spores?" Lauren asked.

"Maybe, but you'd think that Pokemon would adapt to it after living here for so long," Xander said.

"Tic, tic!" Zaye flew up to the Kritetot, and after a second of flying in front of it, Zaye poked it.

The Kricketot responded by hopping to its feet and beginning to jump up and down in a random, crazy fashion.

"TIC!" Zaye was surprised by the Kricketot, and flew back to Kelly, tears in her eyes.

"Ri..." Nova growled at the Kricketot, and Kelly grabbed him before he charged at it.

"Zaye, I don't know if you have the right to be scared, Nova, don't attack the baby bug," Kelly held one Pokemon in each arm, Zaye snuggling her, and Nova still glaring at the Kricketot.

Kricketot continued to jump up and down for a few seconds, and then charged at Sera, clinging to her leg.

Sera let out a small squeal, stumbling back. She stared down at the Kricketot, confusion on her face.

"What is wrong with that thing?" Melony asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Tortle..." Izumi was watching cautiously, standing up straight on Melony's shoulders.

Sera knelt down and pulled the Kricketot off of her leg, and held it in front of her.

"Kricketot!" The Kricketot squeaked in glee, hearts in its eyes.

"I think it _really _likes you, Sera," Melony giggled.

"Maybe you should catch it," Nico suggested.

"Yes, it will become fairly strong when it evolves," Lauren agreed.

"Do you want to come with me, little Kricketot?" Sera asked.

"Kricke, Kricketot!" Kricketot hugged Sera with its small hands.

"Okay, you're mine," Sera, holding the pokemon in one hand, took out a Luxury Ball, set the Kricketot down, and dropped the Luxury Ball on it. The ball wiggled three times, and flashed. Sera knelt, picked up the ball, and let Kricketot back out.

"Tot!" Kricketot jumped up and down a few times, and then jumped into Sera's arms.

Melony took out her Pokedex, got the dex for the Pokemon and informed Sera that it was a male Kricketot.

"Okay, then... I'm going to name you... Terra, because you were living on a Torterra's back!" Sera grinned under her mask, and her eyes sparkled. She held up the Luxury Ball, and returned Terra. She opened her bag to put the ball up, but before she could, it burst open, and Terra appeared again.

"Kricke!" Terra jumped up and down in the same random manner that it had the first time, and then jumped into Sera's arms.

"It appears that he likes you too much to go into the ball," Lauren noted.

"I wonder why..." Xander spoke in a playful voice, his mask hiding a smirk.

Sera glared at Xander. "Be nice, Xander, or I'll make Melony scold you!"

"Melony isn't going to scold me..." Xander spoke slowly. "She loves me back," he ended his sentence in a "matter-of-fact" tone.

"What are you writing down?" Melony wasn't paying attention to Sera and Xander at the moment. She was leaning over to Nico, who was scribbling something down on a notepad.

"As a Pokemon Ranger, I must take down notes of things that I observe in the field, like how all of these Pokemon live in harmony, and the spores, and the plant life here," Nico responded without looking at Melony.

"It appears that Melony doesn't love you enough to even be paying attention to you right now," Sera said, her eyes narrow, a smirk on her face.

"Melony, we need to get to the next town soon, don't we?" Xander asked.

"Uh?" Melony was snapped out of her reading, and she nodded once she realized what Xander had said. "Yeah, let's go."

The group continued to walk again, Xander slightly out of it, and a smug look on Sera's face.

The Spore Path was a pretty uneventful path up until two blade-like leaves came sailing, knocking Izumi off of Melony's shoulders.

Izumi fell to the ground, barely able to land on her feet. "War..." Izumi let out a whine and turned to see a Grovyle with a Bulbasaur, a Chikorita, and a Turtwig standing beside it.

"Grovyle..." Grovyle's mouth was curled into a smirk, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Hey, what was up with that?" Melony's eyes narrowed, as she stood firm behind Izumi, expecting to have to battle soon.

"Vyle!" Grovyle's eyes narrowed and its smirk faded, and within seconds, it charged, and hit Izumi with a powerful Leaf Blade attack.

Izumi flew backwards, slamming into Melony's stomach and causing Melony to fly backwards as well, colliding with a tree, a struggled gasp escaping her throat.

"Melony!" Sera, Kelly, and Nico said in unison.

Kelly and Nico ran for Melony and Izumi, and Sera was about to before Terra jumped out of her hands, and dashed for the group of Pokemon. "Terra!" Sera whined.

"Are you okay?" Nico asked, lifting a fainted Izumi off of Melony's stomach, and placing her on the ground, on her stomach.

Lauren and Xander glanced back, but they were concentrating on the Pokemon situation.

Sera was running for Terra, who was now attempting to repeatedly punch the Grovyle in the foot. "Tot, tot, Kricketot!"

"Gro..." Grovyle chuckled, before reaching down, grabbing Terra, and throwing him at Sera.

Sera caught Terra, and hugged him tightly. "Don't do that!" She snapped.

Terra let out the best whimper that a bug pokemon could manage, and buried his face into Sera's shirt.

"Lauren, we need to put this Grovyle in its place, right?" Xander's eyes narrowed. He threw a glance over his shoulder, and bit down hard on his lip.

Melony was half unconscious, groaning as Kelly and Nico shook her, and pleaded for her to wake up.

Zaye pulled at Izumi's ears and tail, her eyes wide and brimmed with tears. "Togetic!"

"Yes, I do believe we do," Lauren spoke softly, her voice bitter. She had a Pokeball in her hand.

Xander let out a sigh, thinking to himself that he wasn't making himself look too good for Melony, choosing to battle instead of help her. He took out the ball that contained Dagger, and he and Lauren tossed the balls in the air at the same time.

"Go Stratos!" Lauren called at the same time as Xander said, "Go, Dagger!"

An Altaria and a Scizor appeared next to each other, both with serious battle expressions on their faces.

The three smaller grass Pokemon backed away, but the Grovyle merely chuckled.

"You won't be chuckling for long. Dagger, use your X-Scissor!" Xander cried, his hands now curled into tight fists, his knuckles white.

"Sciz..." Dagger nodded, and charged with his pincers in front of him.

Grovyle dodged and it was time for Stratos' attack.

"Aerial Ace, Stratos..." Lauren's voice came out as a purr, making it seem as if she wasn't too worried about the situation at hand.

"Taria!" Stratos charged and hit the Grovyle in mid air, both Pokemon crashing into the ground.

"Flash Cannon and finish this!" Xander's signature smirk had returned when he saw that Grovyle was left wobbling on its legs and Stratos was back, flying over Dagger.

"Zor!" Dagger jumped into the air, a bright orb forming in front of him, and when he was at the angle to hit all of the grass Pokemon, he fired at the group, and when the flash had disappeared, the grass pokemon were nowhere to be seen.

"Excellent," Lauren recalled Stratos at the same time as Xander recalled Dagger.

"Stratos and Dagger did a pretty good job," Xander mumbled, his mind already off of the battle as he sprinted towards Melony, who was still on the ground.

"Mel, wake up! Ya can't pass out on us," Xander said, kneeling beside Kelly.

"Hmm, mh..." Melony groaned, her eyes dull, and only half opened. "Izumi..." She whined hoarsely.

Zaye had succeeded finally in getting the Wartortle to sit up, and at the sound of her name, Izumi crawled over to Melony, her limbs shaking under the weight of body. "Tortle..." Izumi put a hand on Melony's face.

"Hi..." Melony's eyes slowly opened a bit wider, and with the help of Nico and Kelly, she sat up, and Xander sat Izumi in her lap.

"Is she going to be okay?" Lauren asked, standing over the rest of the group.

"I'm fine," Melony mumbled weakly, her hand toying with Izumi's ear. "Are you okay?" She asked, her eyes on Izumi.

"War..." Izumi nodded, attempted a weak smile.

"We need to go," Melony spoke as she wrapped her arms around Izumi. "I don't want anything like that to happen again.

"First off, is anything on you hurt or anything?" Xander asked.

"No, not really. My head hurts a bit and my back is aching, but I think I can make it to the Pokemon Center to get Izumi healed," Melony struggled to push herself up with little success.

"We gotcha," Kelly said. "Help me," she spoke with her eyes on Nico.

The two each grabbed one of Melony's shoulders and pulled her to her feet.

Melony stumbled, but Kelly and Nico held onto her for a minute while she regained her balance.

"What happened to Terra?" Melony asked, looking at the crying Kricketot in Sera's arms.

"Grovyle was mean to him. It kicked him," Sera's bottom lip poked out as she spoke.

"Oh, and what happened to those grass Pokemon?" Melony asked.

"Lauren and me got our Pokemon to take care of them," Xander explained, half a smirk on his face.

"Okay. That's good," Melony nodded, resting her chin on Izumi's head. "Let's get to the Pokemon Center."

The group began to walk once more, Kelly and Nico flanking Melony as to make sure that she didn't collapse or anything.

It was uneventful and slow moving, and there was an awkward air to the silence of the group. They had two injured Pokemon and an injured person, making them need to hurry, without the ability to hurry.

As they neared the entrance of Kefii Village, they noticed two things: first, the village was gated, and the gates were locked with a huge iron padlock, and second, they could see a mass of people on the cobblestone streets and they heard screaming of both people and pokemon.

"Uhhh... This most likely isn't normal," Xander spoke cautiously.

**Author's Note: **I apologize deeply for the super-late update. This has been a very, very, very, busy week for me, and I wanted to spend some time with my boyfriend before school started. Now, school starts tomorrow, and the updates will be slow anyway, but I will try to update this story at least once or twice a week.

Please review and thank you for the reviews. :)


	8. Disruption in Kefii Village

**Author's Note: **There's not really much to say here at all this time. I'm not late with my updating, I don't believe. I do want to say something. **I don't want anymore OCs submitted at this moment. **I'm sorry, and yes, I still need positions to be filled, but as of right now, it's going to take me five or six chapters before everyone is introduced and I know everyone is wanting to see their characters in the story. **When I feel that it will be fine to start accepting OCs again, it will say so in the Author's Note at the beginning of the chapter. ** Please review and sorry for closing OC submission.

**Chapter Eight: Disruption in Kefii Village**

"We need to get in the town and find out what's happening!" Melony spoke, yanking the mask over her head, revealing a scowl on her face, her bright eyes narrowed.

"Well, who would've thought of that one?" Xander rolled his eyes, his voice sounding both sarcastic and playful. "Dagger, you'll help me on this one!" Xander tossed a ball into the air and let out his Scizor.

"Let's jump the gate, Zuberi!" Kelly exclaimed, throwing a ball up into the air as well.

In a flash, an oversized Dodrio appeared, and Zaye hugged the middle neck.

"Stratos, help me fly over the gate," Lauren let out her Altaria once more, and at the same time that Kelly climbed onto Zuberi's back, Lauren climbed onto Stratos, and Xander was lifted by Dagger.

"Please, join me, Sera, Nico," Lauren said.

"Hop on, Melony," Kelly said, holding onto the neck of Zuberi's left head.

Once situated, the Pokemon hopped over the gate, and while Zuberi and Stratos landed gracefully, without a sound, Dagger landed with a metal _CLING _against the cobblestone road of Kefii.

"Hey, what the heck do you all think you're doing? No one's allowed past the gate!" A man, dressed in a black hoodie with a yellow "S" written in lightning bolts on the front, along with black leather pants, and black boots with a yellow stripe down the side.

Behind the man was a female dressed in the same attire. Both of the people had bright yellow hair, though the female's was about four inches longer than the male's, and they both had bright blue eyes, resembling blue electricity.

None of the group spoke for a moment. Their eyes were scanning the area.

Kefii, which appeared to be modeled as a less modern village, with small stone buildings and candlelight lampposts lining the cobblestone sidewalks, was partially in ruins. Everywhere, there were people that resembled the goons in front of them, blocking all of the buildings, and terrorizing the villagers. There was a scream every time an electric pokemon unleashed a bolt of lightening, striking a building or a villager.

"What- What is going on here?" Melony stuttered, hugging the battered Wartortle against her chest. She wanted to be brave, she really did, but her instincts were telling her to cower behind Xander and Lauren.

"Team Shockwave is taking over Kefii Village because there were sightings of a legendary beast around here, and plus, the contest hall here has some pretty valuable prizes that could earn the boss a pretty good amount of money," the male explained, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Team Shockwave?" Xander arched a brow, not a bit of worry in his face. "Another Team Rocket that's gonna fail, right?" Xander scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as if to mock the grunt.

"WRONG!" The male snapped, infuriated. "Team Shockwave is nothing like Team Rocket, and our plans of world domination will succeed and you'll be the first to be a servant of Team Shockwave!"

"Sure, sure, I will," Xander chuckled.

"Xander, I wouldn't mess with these people too much, there are way more of them than they are us," Sera spoke in a low voice, her arms cradling Terra, who was now sleeping.

Xander snorted. "Battle us, you two," he spoke without any worry at all.

"Yeah, battle us and we'll work our way up to your leader and annihilate Team Shockwave!" Kelly snapped, her hands balled into tight fists, her lips curled into a scowl.

"We can take down Team Shockwave," Lauren seemed collected, but there was an edge of bitterness in her voice. "It won't be a problem at all."

"Uh, yeah, you guys are no match for us...!" Melony spoke with no confidence at all, the only thought in her head being the fact that she only had one Pokemon left.

"Valerie, go get one of the executives to handle these meddlers, and I'll hold them off," the male said, taking out three Pokeballs.

"I'm on it," the female nodded, and ran off in the direction of the destruction.

The male threw the balls, letting out a Shinx, a Zubat, and a Stunky.

Xander scoffed, and sent Charger into battle, while Lauren sent out a Kirlia whom she called Clair, and Kelly sent Nova into battle.

"Hold it!" A female voice stopped the grunt just as he was about to call out an attack.

The ground began to shake with each footstep as a Mamoswine approached, carrying a trainer with a Glaceon on her shoulder. The girl's face was veiled by a silver snow cloak, and she wore matching gray sweatpants and snowshoes. She stood with her hands to her sides, and one would assume that her face matched the angered expression of her Glaceon's.

"You people jumped the fence," the female stated. "I saw this with my own eyes."

"Valerie has also been sent to inform you, Maer, uh, Executive Maer," the male said. He had beads of sweat forming at his hairline, and his eyes were widened.

"Okay," the female, Maer, seemed indifferent. "You leave as well, and let me take care of these trainers."

"Yes, Executive," the male nodded, recalled his Pokemon, and took off as if he was afraid of the woman.

"I see that one of you have a Jolteon," Maer noted. "Glaceon, take care of it first."

"Glaceon!" the Glaceon on Maer's shoulder nodded, and hopped off of Mamoswine, landing elegantly in front of Charger.

"Charger, use your Thunder Fang!" Xander commanded. His arms still remained folded over his chest in a relaxed manner, though his face portrayed that he was now serious.

"Jolt!" Charger nodded, bolts of electricity surrounding his sharp, canine like teeth. He charged at Glaceon, who dodged with more swiftness than any of the Pokemon that they had encountered.

"Ice Beam," Maer commanded. Her voice was calm, as if she knew that it would be easy to win the battle.

Glaceon's eyes narrowed just before a bright, mist covered beam shot from her mouth, and hit Charger with perfect accuracy.

Charger struggled to use Dig to keep himself from taking the full damage of the critical hit, but instead, the Jolteon was sent flying through the air, slamming into a small cottage, collapsing the wall on top of Charger.

"What the-" Xander's eyes were wide, and without anymore words, he took off after his Jolteon, slipping on the remains of the Ice Beam that were on the ground.

"That wasn't necessary and you know it!" Kelly yelled at Maer. "Nova, Blaze Kick!"

"Rii..." Nova snarled, but before he could unleash his attack,

"Maer, Maer, my dear, what is going on here?" A man with smokey colored hair that was in a lose ponytail approached, stepping in front of Mamoswine. His eyes were dark, and in the slowly fading light, it was hard to tell that they were actually dark green, not black. He was dressed in all black, a black t-shirt, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. His hands were tucked into his pockets, and there was no sign that he was a member of Team Shockwave until he spoke again. "I sent message to leave ten minutes ago, what are you doing?"

"There are some people that have invaded our plans, Boss," Maer answered solemnly.

Glaceon had realized what was going on, and with one quick leap, had returned to Maer's shoulder.

"Oh, really?" the man turned to face the group. "So, you have heard of Team Shockwave now?" He arched a brow.

"Yes, and how do you expect to terrorize a village and expect to get away with it?" Kelly was glaring at the man, obviously not the least bit intimidated by his superiority in Team Shockwave.

"Team Shockwave's members are of only the finest trainers, and with great numbers, and great trusts in our Pokemon, we will conquer the Nicor Region, and then the other regions as well," the man had a smirk on his face. "And eventually, everyone will serve Team Shockwave!"

"It's not going to happen, not when we know your plans!" Nico stepped forward. There was a cold determination in her voice and in her eyes.

The man chuckled as a rope from a helicopter fell in front of him. "I must go. It was nice meeting all of you," his voice sounded sincere, which was odd for the boss of a team of villains.

Maer returned Mamoswine, and without saying any words of departure, she grabbed onto the rope with the boss, and the helicopter took off as grunts pulled the two into the chopper.

All Pokemon that weren't normally out of their pokeballs were recalled while Xander approached the group with Charger in his arms.

The Jolteon's eyes were open, though they were very dull in color and shine, and the Pokemon twitched occasionally. A whimper came from the back of his throat, and Xander gently ran a finger over his ear.

"We really have to get to a Pokemon center," Melony said. She looked at Xander, and thought for a second that she saw tear stains around his baby blue colored eyes.

"Yeah..." Xander mumbled, little emotion to his voice. "It's gonna be okay, Charger, buddy," he whispered to the Jolteon in his arms.

Charger let out a very faint, hoarse whimper.

The group then dashed for the Pokemon Center, all relieved to see that apart from a small hole in the roof, there appeared to be no damage.

"Nurse Joy, we have a severely injured Pokemon, and a few Pokemon that need to be healed," Melony called, when they entered the Pokemon Center.

"Oh, my, did those people in the yellow suits do this?" Nurse Joy ran over to the group, her eyes concentrating on Charger.

"Yeah," Xander nodded, and his voice barely cracked when he spoke. "He got knocked into a wall."

"I'll see what I can do," Nurse Joy said. "It might take more than one night to heal this kind of damage, though."

A Chansey danced up to the trainers, and everyone gave up all of their Pokemon for a good two hours of healing, and then took a seat on the couches.

Xander leaned forward, propped his elbows on his knees, and rested his forehead in the palms of his hands.

"Hey, Xander, are you gonna be okay?" Melony asked, her voice and face filled with concern.

"Yeah," Xander responded flatly.

"Have you ever had a Pokemon get that injured?" Kelly asked, concern also filling her voice.

"Uhm," Xander leaned back and sunk into the couch. His eyes were almost emotionless, apart from the glaze of tears. "I have seen one of my Pokemon, a Nidoking, get actually killed in battle, but I've never let Charger get this injured."

"How did your Nidoking get killed?" Nico asked. "I've seen plenty of severe Pokemon battles in my field work, but never have I seen a Pokemon killed."

"I..." Xander sighed. "I used to be a bit too brutal on my Pokemon, and my Nidoking loved to fight and never backed down from a challenge anyway, and we pushed too hard, and he ended up dying in the Pokemon Center the night after the battle."

"So, you let your Pokemon get killed?" Kelly's eyes narrowed, but there wasn't anger in her voice, yet.

"I was eleven, and I didn't know what I was doing, and had over-trained one Pokemon and pushed it past its limits. It was an accident," Xander had tears streaming down his cheeks, and he looked vulnerable compared to his usual cocky self. "I didn't battle again until I was thirteen..."

"You're crying," Sera stated, though she also had tears filling her eyes.

"Sera, don't push it," Xander let out a sigh, wiping at his eyes, though it didn't help much.

"I think we all make a few mistakes sometimes in life, though some are worse than others," Lauren said. Her hair was covering her face. "I do not think that we should be angry at Xander for his mistake."

Kelly seemed to consider it. "I guess you would be correct, though fighting a Pokemon to its death is beyond wrong."

"I hope Charger will be okay. I didn't mean to let him get hurt that bad," Xander's eyes were now on the door where Nurse Joy had taken the Pokemon.

"That wasn't really your fault," Melony said. "He was perfectly fine until Glaceon hit him with that Ice Beam."

"Sorry to interrupt," Nurse Joy said, as she exited the back room. "but I was going to inform you all that if you want, you can find a room upstairs and get some rest, because you all look beat."

"That might be a good idea," Melony said. She felt sore all over from Grovyle's attack, and she thought that sleep sounded wonderful.

"The Kefii Contest is tomorrow, though the ribbon will be one of the older models that were in storage. It is still valid, though," Nurse Joy explained.

"Yay, I get to enter a contest!" Sera grinned broadly, jumping up out of her seat.

"Awesome!" Kelly smiled, not showing as much excitement as Sera.

"Let's turn in for the night so that Sera and Kelly will be good to go for their contest tomorrow," Xander stood up, stretched, and wiped his eyes.

After agreeing that it was time for them to get some sleep, they headed upstairs and separated into two separate rooms. Even though the sun had just now set, and the sky was barely dark, the group fell asleep with ease.

**Author's Note: **Short chapter, and the next one will be longer, I promise. Sorry if this chapter was horrible.


	9. Sera vs Kelly, the Kefii Contest

**Author's Note: **Expect updates once a week, I'm making this final. I'm still not accepting anymore OC's and I'm sorry for this. I'm sorry that I can't update that often, I hope I'm not losing too many readers because of it. Thanks to all of you who are sticking in there, though. =]

If I use the wrong "effected/affected" anywhere throughout this fanfic, please tell me, because, even after years of English and scoring really good on English tests in my school, I still don't get the rules for that pair of words. ^_^; It might also be useless trying to explain them to me, because my friends and teachers have tried, and they fail.

**Chapter Nine: Sera vs. Kelly, the Kefii Contest**

"Xander... Xander, wake up!" Sera nudged her sleeping friend in the side as she tried to snap him out of his slumber. "Xander, it's morning and I _need _you to wake up!"

It was morning, though Sera and Kelly were the only two trainers that were awake, and still in the room. The sun had just risen over the horizon, bathing the damaged village of Kefii in a golden orange light. The villagers had worked overnight, and the damage wasn't as noticeable as one would expect, and fighting Pokemon were working at a fast pace to restore the homes that were affected.

While Kelly was in the bathroom, getting dressed for the contest, Sera was already dressed, with her light hair falling to her thin shoulders, and glitter decorating her round cheeks. She was now dressed in a lime green dress that flared at the hips, covering her feet. It was strapless, but Sera wore a small, pastel pink sweater over it, that went down to her elbows. She had on pastel pink, lacy gloves, and pastel pink slippers. A golden tiara with pink and green jewels set upon her head. She sparkled when she moved, and appeared to be a little girl dressed as a princess.

"Hm...?" Xander groaned, opening his eyes slowly. "What- what do you want, Sera?"

"You have lots of Pokemon, _right_?" Sera asked, already putting on an adorable, child-like, puppy-dog face.

"Uhm, fifteen in total, why?" Xander pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes. He paused when he saw Sera's pleading look. "What do you want with my Pokemon?

"Can I borrow at least one?" Sera fluttered her sparkling eyelashes. "_Please?_"

"Uh, no," Xander rolled his eyes. "My pokemon are trained to battle, not do girly little contests."

"Oh, but Xander... I need one more Pokemon so I can have four Pokemon..." Sera whined, fake tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Nope, not happening," Xander shook his head.

"Xander, let her borrow a Pokemon," Melony's tired voice sounded from under the covers of her bed. "It won't kill you."

"Okay, fine!" Xander glared at Sera. "We'll go to my PC when everyone is dressed."

Kelly emerged from the bathroom now, dressed in a simple, strapless, black dress and simple flats to go along with it. Her contest clothing wasn't fancy like a lot of coordinators, but it suited her well, making her look just as elegant as Sera.

"Like the dress," Melony said, throwing the covers off of her and sitting up. Her hair was extremely messy, almost looking as if she had gotten zapped by an electric pokemon.

"Uh, thanks," Kelly smiled. "Like... Your hair," she snickered.

"Tic!" Zaye landed on Kelly's bare shoulders. The pokemon's mood was brighter than the morning sun that was now starting to shine through the window.

Kelly patted the pokemon on the head, and picked up Nova, who was sitting on the bed, a blank expression on his face.

"Ri..." Nova let a tiny smile cross his face as he hugged Kelly.

"Let's get dressed, Lauren, Nico, Melony," Xander sighed, hopping off of his top bunk.

"Nico woke up when we did and went to get some field work done," Sera said, right as the door opened and Nico walked in.

She had one of the masks they'd used in the Spore Path hanging from her neck, and a notebook and pen in hand. "Hiya, glad to see that everyone is awake!"

"You went back to the Spore Path?" Sera asked, tilting her head in a confused manner. "That place had mean Pokemon in it, though."

"Yeah, but as a Pokemon ranger, it's my job to record everything that I can about the Nicor Region, even if it is somewhat dangerous," Nico spoke in a tone that showed that she was proud to be a Pokemon ranger. "I tried to catch a Chikorita, but it didn't work out."

"How could it not work out?" Xander arched a brow as he spoke. "You have a Sneasel that could easily freeze the Chikorita, and then it would be easy to catch."

Nico shook her head. "Catching a Pokemon as a ranger is a bit different. We use a Capture Styler, not pokeballs. I'll show all of you when we get to the next place with wild pokemon in it."

After conversation ceased, the group showered and dressed in a hurry, and while the others waited outside, Xander and Sera stopped by the PC to take a look at Xander's Pokemon.

"Do you know what type you want or anything?" Xander asked, once the PC booted up, showing information of Xander and his Pokemon.

"I taught Luna Dark Pulse with a TM this morning, so I was going to use her and Hiro as a team, so I want something that can go along with Terra," Sera said, speaking slowly. "Maybe something that could juggle him or toss him?"

"I've got an idea, since basically the only thing that Kricketot can do is use Bide, I'll give you a Pokemon that can use Swift!" Xander began to press the keys on the PC and the slot beside the PC glowed as a Pokeball appeared. Xander picked it up and handed it to Sera. "It's a Delibird that knows Swift, Signal Beam, Ice Beam, and Water Pulse. He helped me beat the Elite Four in the Johto Region, and I'm not sure how he'll do, but he's obedient."

"Thank you, Xander!" Sera grinned broadly. "I might not use him... It just depends on how many rounds there are, and if I have to do a double battle."

"Alright," Xander shrugged. "You'd better return him after the Contest though. His name is Saint."

The two trainers left and entered the Contest Hall, a small, dome shaped building with ribbons lining the edge of the roof.

"Okay!" the announcer, a young woman with chocolate colored hair and bright eyes spoke into a microphone once all entries were done. "Before I introduce our lovely contestants, I will explain how the Kefii Contest works! There are three rounds! The first is simply appeal of both the trainer and one of their Pokemon! The trainer must dress up their Pokemon and strike a pose onstage to appeal to the audience!"

As the announcer spoke, images of trainers from past contests, appealing with their Pokemon, appeared on the screen behind her.

"Once this round as over, the trainers with the lowest appeals will be out of the competition and sixteen trainers will move on. The trainers will be divided into groups of four for the second round, the dance competition! The trainers Pokemon that they used in the first round will dance with three other Pokemon, with one being the lead Pokemon. They will follow the steps of the lead Pokemon, and each Pokemon will get a turn to be the lead Pokemon!"

"Four trainers will move on after this, and there will be two double battles in the first part of the third round! The winner of the battle will be determined by either appeal to the crowd or their opponent's pokemon fainting! The trainer with the best score from each battle will advance to the final battle, another double battle, and the winner of this battle will win the Kefii Ribbon!"

With the announcer being done with her speech, the crowd cheered. Images flashed for a moment of battles and dances from previous competitions and then images of the competitors flashed and the announcer began to introduce them. After this, the curtain closed, and the crowd waited silently for the first name to appeal was called.

A few trainers were called to appeal before Kelly's name was announced, and the curtain opened to reveal Kelly and Zaye in a flash of multicolored lights. Zaye was dressed with golden glitter on her head and wings, with three adorable red and blue ribbons on her head, and cute black doll shoes on her feet. She waved a red fan to the crowd at the same time that Kelly waved a blue fan.

Zaye then did a back flip in air, sending a shower of sparkles on the stage. She landed on Kelly's head, and waved happily to the crowd before the curtain closed and the crowd cheered.

Sera was called not long after, and she appeared to be onstage alone when the curtain opened. She twirled around, a green ribbon that resembled a vine surrounding her, and Terra jumped out from behind her, the same ribbon in his tiny hand.

The Kricketot twirled in unison with his trainer before suddenly hopping up into the air, dropping the ribbon. Leaves and green glitter flew around Sera as she continued to twirl, making a tornado of leaves and vines. Terra bounced up and down as he threw pink petals and sparkles into the spiral of the ribbon, making it look as if they were surrounded by a mix of Leaf Storm and Petal Dance.

Sera slowed to a stop, and the leaves and petals fell to the ground along with her ribbon, and as she bowed, Terra jumped down to the very edge of the stage and bounced up and down happily, his tiny, insect limbs moving as fast as he could get them to move. This was the only time that you would notice that the Kricketot was wearing a tiny black bowtie.

The curtain closed, and after a few more acts, the announcer revealed the contestants moving on to round two. Sera and Kelly were both announced, and the group in the crowd cheered. Later on, it was revealed that they were not in the same dancing group, which meant that they still had a chance to battle later on.

Terra was in a group with a Pichu, a Marill, and a Clefairy.

The music began to play a happy, upbeat, childish tune and Clefairy was the first to lead. It began by wiggling its fingers in the average Clefairy fashion, while hopping up and down, alternating feet. As soon as the dimmer light shone on the three backups, they began to dance as well, attempting to mock what they saw Clefairy do on the small screens that were a few feet in front of them.

Terra was able to repeat the steps, though it was hard to tell that he was moving his little hands. Pichu seemed to repeat at a slightly faster pace, while Marill struggled with the feet movement.

Clefairy ended its moves with a small spinning motion that all the Pokemon were able to repeat.

The Pokemon continued to dance, Pichu doing a jig that required simultaneous movement of the legs and arms, which Terra didn't struggle too much on, and Marill flipping upside down and sort of spinning on its head and then bouncing on its tail, which was a bit harder than the others for Terra to follow.

Once it was Terra's turn to dance, he started by hopping up and down at an extremely fast pace, causing the crowd to chuckle. He thin spun from side to side and ended by waving to the crowd.

At the end of round two, it was revealed that both Kelly and Sera were moving on, but they would not be battling yet.

Kelly was up against a rather nerdy girl, with black rimmed glasses, a wavy brown ponytail, and large brown eyes. She wasn't dressed up like most of the contestants, only wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. She had a golden Turtwig necklace, and a necklace that had the yin part of a yin and yang symbol. Kelly wondered how she had gotten past the appeal part of the competition, but she pushed her thoughts to the side.

The trainer introduced herself as Nicole Barber before sending out a Pikachu named Apple and a Delcatty named Starr.

After thinking for a moment, Kelly sent out Kamaria the Ivysaur and Zaye.

"Petal Dance, Kamaria, Magical Leaf, Zaye!" Kelly called. The Pokemon knew what to do, so she said nothing more. They had practiced this routine before.

"Ivy!" Kamaria's bulb glowed a bright pink as petals surrounded her, and Zaye wiggled her fingers to cause multicolored, flashing leaves to join into the tornado of petals.

Kamaria nodded before charging, leaving an array of flashing petals behind. Kelly's points went up, causing a smirk to cross the trainer's face.

"Apple, use Protect, and Starr, use your Ice Beam to freeze the petals once the Ivysaur stops!" Nicole called.

"Pika!" Apple quickly began to form a barrier to stop Kamaria.

"Zaye, Psychic, and stop it!" Kelly called out.

"Tic!" Zaye did a quick backflip in the air before her eyes and the tips of her hands began to glow a light blue. "Togetic..." Her voice went soft as she concentrated.

Apple threw her paws in front of her, but instead of flashing white as they would do when a Pokemon was using Protect, they lit up bright blue, and Zaye smirked as she threw Apple's paws behind her, causing the Pikachu to fall.

Starr proceeded, narrow-eyed and determined, to use her Ice Beam on Kamaria as commanded, and as the ray of ice hit the petals, few of them froze and burst into a rainbow of sparkles, causing Nicole's points to elevate.

The remaining petals swirled around Kamaria as she slammed into Apple at her full speed, causing pink dust and glittering specks of the magical leaves to fall over the crowd.

"PIKA!" Apple cried out as she was hit. It wasn't all bad for the Pikachu's team, as her Static ability kicked in, and tiny sparks surrounded Kamaria.

Kelly's points shot up, while Nicole lost a good amount, and then gained a few from Apple's Static.

"Alright!" Kelly cheered, and shot a smile towards her comrades, who were cheering and clapping in the stands.

Nicole winced, but had no thoughts of giving in. Her eyes trailed up towards the scoreboard and the timer, which revealed that the battle would be over in just a bit over a minute. "We've got to win this," she mumbled, under her breath. Her face lit up as she thought of one more strategy.

"Apple, use your Volt Tackle," her fists were clinched as she commanded her Pokemon, determination dominating her expression. "Starr, use Ice Beam once more to make it shine!"

Both of the Pokemon nodded, and at the same time that Apple charged, Starr coated the Pikachu with the shimmer from her Ice Beam.

"Zaye, use Metronome!" It was the only thing that Kelly could think of, and she knew it was a long shot. If the Volt Tackle were to hit both of her Pokemon, it would be over, and Kamaria couldn't move, making her team weakened.

Zaye threw a confused look over her shoulder at her trainer. She knew that she rarely ever was commanded to use Metronome, but she obeyed and waggled her tiny hand to summon a random attack. The attack turned out to be Teleport, and right as Apple was about to collide with them, Zaye placed her hand on Kamaria and teleported to the other side of the arena.

"_Pika-PI!" _Apple cried out as she realized that she couldn't stop. She dashed passed Kelly and an explosion of electricity lit up the battlefield as she slammed into the wall.

Once the smoke cleared, Apple was unconscious, swirls in her eyes.

Nicole's points dropped back to zero, and the timer dinged, symbolizing that the battle was over.

"Togetic!" Zaye cheered, flying over to Kelly and hugging her.

Kelly held Zaye in one arm and returned the paralyzed Kamaria. "We did it!" Kelly grinned broadly. She then turned to Nicole. "That was an excellent match. You've got good strategies."

Nicole smiled and nodded. "Thanks. And it _was_ a great battle."

The first part of the final round was over and the screen revealed that Kelly and Sera were now to face off, competing for the ribbon.

"Oh, wow," Melony smirked. "This really is going to be a battle to behold."

"Agreed," Nico nodded. "I can't wait to see it."

Sera and Kelly stepped onto the field, Sera cradling Terra, and Kelly with Zaye and Nova on her shoulders.

"I figured this would end up happening," Kelly grinned, her eyes sparkling. "I was hoping it would, actually."

"Me too!" Sera chirped.

"Ten minutes are on the clock and in the final round, the first coordinator to either defeat one of the other coordinator's Pokemon or reach five hundred points will win," the announcer explained. "If the timer runs out, the coordinator with the most points will receive the Kefii Ribbon." And with that, the announcer held up a flag, signaling Kelly and Sera to start the battle.

"Hiro and Luna, let's show Kelly that we can win this!" Sera threw the two Luxury Balls into the air and sent out her Dratini and her Poochyena.

"Alright, let's go Sabin and Zuberi!" Kelly sent out a Houndour and a Dodrio.

The timer pinged and the time began to decrease.

"Let's start it off with our Dark Dragon Pulse!" Sera did a little twirl as she spoke.

Luna yipped and Hiro, normally silent, nodded. Both Pokemon summoned a ball of energy in front of them, and threw it at the same time. The pulses combined to form a greenish ball with black specks of energy and a purple aura.

"Dodge!" Kelly commanded.

Both of her Pokemon jumped to either side.

Sera's face held a somewhat conceited smirk as she let out her next command. "Hiro, use Swift and make some pretty colors!"

Hiro let out a beam of stars without much enthusiasm, as the Dratini was a rather lazy and hard to amuse.

Luna chased her tail without interest in the battle, yipping every time her sharp fangs clamped down on her tail. It was an amazement how the two Pokemon actually managed to pull off a stunning combo.

The Swift hit the ball and it exploded into black, light green, and yellow sparkles, covering the entire battlefield. Sera's points increased to seventy-five.

Kelly nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "That was pretty good, but I'll show you how it's done. Sabin, use Swift, and Zuberi, use Steel Wing."

Sabin nodded, a growl escaping his throat. He shot stars from his mouth, and Zuberi dashed for them as pseudo, glowing wings appeared on both sides of her. Zuberi hit each star with her silver wings, causing a burst shimmering light each time. At the end of the attack, she hit both of Sera's Pokemon with her wings, causing a final burst of silver as the wings disappeared.

Luna yelped as she was slung backwards, and Hiro simply skidded to a stop and glared at Zuberi.

Sera lost five points and Kelly's points went up to eighty.

"That was so mean!" Sera pouted. "Now, I'll show you how Steel attacks are used! Luna, Iron Tail, and Hiro, Waterfall and surround Luna!"

Hiro coated himself with water as Luna's tail lit up, and Luna began to run at the same time that Hiro began to circle her, making something similar to Water Pulse surrounding her. The puppy jumped higher every time that Hiro did a loop under her feet, and the water that trailed behind the two shimmered.

"Giga Impact and end this little performance!" Kelly called to Zuberi.

"Trio!" the center head nodded and the huge ostrich Pokemon charged and slammed into Luna, causing the puppy Pokemon to cry out in pain.

Hiro's Waterfall burst into drops that still shimmered, and Luna's tail simply faded as the Pokemon bounced back, and skidded, on her side, back to Sera's feet.

Hiro, angered, and not very effected by the attack, sent out a Dragon Pulse that exploded in the face of the middle head.

"Dotrio!" the other two heads glared at Hiro, but refused to attack since Kelly hadn't commanded them to.

After the points were determined, Sera now had fifty-five, and Kelly was up to ninety-eight.

"Luna, please get up!" Sera pleaded, no longer concentrating on the points. She realized that her puppy was making no attempt to get up.

Luna let out a whine, her body quivering as she attempted to get back to her feet. In the end, she fell to the ground, unable to battle.

"Sera is out of the competition due to her Pokemon fainting!" the announcer cried. "Therefore, the winner of the Kefii Ribbon is Akela Devlin!"

The crowd cheered, and the two coordinators recalled their Pokemon, and while Sera headed backstage to change, Kelly stepped up onto the platform with the announcer and another person, an older man in a pale blue suit who was the head of the Kefii Contest Hall.

"There was supposed to be a necklace and a small amount of money to go with this, but unfortunately, those no good thieves got it," the man sighed. He then picked up a small, pale blue ribbon with a pale aquamarine in the middle of it off of the cushion that the announcer was holding and handed it to Kelly. "I proudly present to you, your first ribbon, the Kefii Ribbon. You will need five ribbons to compete in the contest finals on Shanlo Mountain."

"Thank you!" Kelly grinned, and placed the ribbon in her ribbon case.

"Tic, togetic!" Zaye clapped cheerfully.

There was a smile on Nova's face, but he said nothing or made no actions.

"I've got my first ribbon, and now, I only need four more to compete in the finals," Kelly spoke to mostly herself and Zaye. She was proud, extremely proud.

**Author's Note: **This was a bit of a long chapter. Sorry for the slight delay in updating. :)


	10. Preparing for MtKeevo

**Author's Note: **I owe all of my readers a HUGE apology, as I have not updated this story in a very long time. I'm so sorry, and please continue to read my stories anyway! The reason that I have not updated is because there was a personal/family tragedy and I was away from home a week to deal with some stuff. I will try to update this once more before the week is over if the teachers don't give me too much homework, to make up for the two/three weeks of not updating. :)

**Chapter 10: Preparing for Mt. Keevo**

"Hey, that really was an awesome contest finish," A voice that was familiar to Kelly spoke from behind the trainers.

The group was now at the Pokemon Center, getting Sera and Kelly's pokemon healed up.

Kelly turned at the sound of the voice to see Nicole from the contest behind them, her arms folded lazily over her chest.

"Uhm, thanks," Kelly said, offering a smile.

"Tic!" Zaye waved cheerfully, seeming more pleased to see someone from the contest than her trainer was.

"Hey, you guys are about to head through Mt. Keevo, am I correct?" Nicole asked, giving the group a questioning look.

"Uhm, yeah," Kelly said, shooting a glance at Melony, who nodded in agreement.

"Well, I might be a coordinator, but I'm also a devoted trainer," Nicole started, "so do one of you want to battle me?"

The group was silent for a moment, before Xander spoke up. "I'd love to battle you just for the fun of it."

"Okay, that sounds cool," Nicole smiled. "Let's head out back."

"Uhm, mind if I leave you guys for awhile and go get some field work done?" Nico asked, her voice wavering just a bit.

"Nah, that'll be fine," Xander spoke in a collected voice. His eyes then turned to Sera. "I want Saint back if you don't mind."

"Oh, okie!" Sera beamed, handing Xander the pokeball that contained his Delibird.

"I am going with Nico," Lauren said, as Nico made her way past the group. Lauren was following her, walking in a way that could remind someone of a cat.

"Let's head out back and get this battle started," Nicole said, a smile still upon her face.

The remaining group members, along with Nicole headed to the field in the back of the Pokemon Center.

"So, how're we gonna do this battle?" Xader said. His arms were now crossed over his chest, and his signature smirk dominated his face.

"How about one double battle?" Nicole suggested. "The next time I see you, if I think you're good enough, we'll use more Pokemon."

"Alright, that's just fine," Xander uncrossed his arms, and took out two Pokeballs. "Saint, Charger, you two are up!" He called out.

"Deli!" A Delibird that was a bit small than most Delibirds appeared in a flash. The Pokemon waved its arms as if trying to fly, and fell on its butt, sighing.

"Jolt!" Charger landed on the field with his quils arched, a scowl on his face.

"Okay, then come on out, Emerald, Lember!" Nicole threw two balls into the air.

A Grovyle appeared, its eyes narrowed. "Gro," It snarled.

A Swampert appeared beside the Grovyle. The pokemon was laying down until it realized that the battle was about to start. "Swampert!" It stood up, towering over the other Pokemon.

"I hate Grovyles," Sera spoke in a pouty voice.

"Not all Grovyles are the same," Melony rolled her eyes.

"TOT!" Terra let out a battle cry, and tried his best to wiggle his way out of Sera's arms.

"No!" Sera commanded, and Terra calmed down.

"Go, Emerald, Leaf Blade!" Nicole commanded, pointing to Charger.

Xander snickered. "Dodge," he spoke in a quiet voice.

His simple command showed that his Pokemon could think on their own, because Charger leaped into the air, while Saint didn't bother to move.

"Use Ice Beam," Xander spoke another simplistic command. He still had a cocky smirk on his face.

"Why is he full of himself in battle?" Melony sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Deli... BIRD!" Saint dug into his bag, and a beam of ice shot from his hand when he pulled his hand out.

The beam collided with Emerald but she managed to use the blades on her arms to withstand some of the attack.

"Emerald, jump!" Nicole commanded. "Lember, Earthquake!"

"Swamp..." Lember growled before pounding the ground with its large hands.

Emerald just managed to dodge the tremors.

"Deli!" Saint almost managed to hop into the air, only to snag his foot on the ground and fall.

The earthquake shook the field, and Charger was damaged as he fell through the ground.

Xander winced, barely managing to keep his balance as the ground shook. When the ground calmed, Xander spoke. "It's time to get serious! Saint, use Signal Beam, and Charger, Dig quickly!"

"Jolteon!" Charger snapped, almost instantaneously disappearing into the ground.

"Bird!" Saint performed the same actions as he did with Ice Beam, only a colorful ray came from his hands this time.

Emerald was knocked out of the sky by the powerful ray, falling hard to the ground. "Govyle..." She mumbled, wobbling as she pulled herself to her feet.

"Use-" Nicole didn't get the time to finish her command as Charger burst from the ground and slammed into Lember, sending electrical sparks flying.

"Swamp!" Lember cried out as the two flew into the sky.

"Thunderfang!" Xander now commanded, while the Pokemon were still in the sky.

Charger bit down on Lember's arm as hard as he could manage, causing Lember to cry out in pain.

The two Pokemon then fell to the ground, Charger standing on Lember's back.

The Swampert was unconscious, making no effort at all to recover.

"Alright, that's great, Charger!" Xander grinned.

"How can Charger manage to always kill Pokemon in two hits?" Sera asked, speaking in a cute tone of voice.

Melony simply shrugged to make it obvious that she wasn't paying much attention to Sera.

"Okay, now, finish Emerald off with a Swift!" Xander called to Saint.

Nicole winced as he said the command, but she didn't say anything as Saint opened his bag and sent stars flying towards Emerald.

The Grovyle was hit, and even though she was almost fainted, she swung her blade to hit Charger with a strong Leaf Blade.

Charger yelped in pain as he was hurled to the ground by the blade, knocked out.

Emerald wobbled a bit on her feet before falling on top of Charger, also fainted.

"Deli..." Saint simply examined the field, and the three Pokemon that were unconscious.

"Ugh, you're good," Nicole sighed, recalling both of her Pokemon.

Xander recalled his Pokemon as well, and chuckled. "Great battle."

Nicole now walked over to the group and offered a smile. "I'm heading through now, so I'll see you guys whenever," she said. "Hope to have a contest with you again, Kelly, and hope to battle you again, Xander."

With that, Nicole was off, and before the group could even say anything to each other, another trainer stepped onto the battlefield.

The trainer was a male that stood a slight bit taller than Melony, with hair pulled into a low-ponytail. His eyes were dark enough that you could barely tell that they were brown. He was dressed in a black t-shirt with a lightning bolt design, red cargo pants, and red tennis shoes.

"I would love to take on a challenge now, if one of you would be willing to do a battle with me," he spoke in a voice that made it obvious that he was around the age of fourteen or fifteen, as it switched tones every now and again.

Melony only thought for a moment before she stepped onto the field. "Using two Pokemon a piece, single battles sound alright to you?" She asked. She wanted to pick the rules as she wanted some more experience in single battles and she only had two pokemon.

"That's just fine," The male said. "My name is Shin Lozano, by the way."

"Melony Chast," Melony said simply. She tried to keep her eyes narrowed in a determined manner, but her nerves were starting to get to her pretty fast. "Go, Izumi!"

The Wartortle, who had been standing at Melony's ankle, waddled onto the field, not used to its new weight.

"Okay, let's go, Chikorita!" Shin called, sending out a Chikorita.

"Chika!" the Chikorita waved, its red eyes determined, ready for battle.

"Chikorita, start off with a tackle," Shin commanded.

"Chika!" Chikorita nodded, and dashed for Izumi.

"Izumi, Withdraw, and block it!" Melony commanded. Only if you were close to her could you here her voice waver.

"Don't lose your focus and confidence," Xander spoke under his breath.

Melony ignored him as she watched her Pokemon withdraw into its shell.

Chikorita slammed into Izumi's solid shell, and wobbled backwards. It let out a whine that turned to a scream as Izumi stuck her head out of her shell and clamped down on Chikorita's leg.

"Eh," Shin seemed slightly unnerved by Izumi's quick action. "Quick, Vine Whip!"

"Rita!" Chikorita slung a vine out, and slapped Izumi across the face.

"War..." Izumi stood, rubbing her face.

"Water Gun to make it back off!" Melony called, slightly warming up to the battle.

"War..." Izumi's eyes narrowed, and she let out a jet of water.

The water didn't hurt Chikorita that bad, but it got her away from Izumi.

"Razor Leaf!" Shin now commanded. His body was starting to tense up as he realized that he was at the disadvantage, even with the type advantage.

"Chikah!" Chikorita sent sharp blades of leaves at Izumi.

"Dodge and Tackle!" Melony called out, hoping that Izumi was fast enough to dodge.

Izumi nodded and did a cartwheel, barely dodging some leaves. Once the leaves were cleared, she charged at Chikorita, hitting her head on, and knocking her out.

Chikorita fell to the ground, her eyes closed, and Shin recalled her.

"Okay, let's go, Spheal," Shin sent out a round- seal like Pokemon.

"Spheal!" The Pokemon barked.

"Izumi, come back!" Melony called.

Izumi ran to Melony's side, and Melony patted the Wartortle's head.

"Now, let's go, Dahlia!" She sent out her Ghastly.

"Ghass..." Dahlia hissed, a broad grin on her face.

"Ice Ball!" Shin commanded.

Spheal barked and shot out a ball of ice at Dahlia.

"Ghastly..." Dahlia grinned and opened her mouth, letting her tongue flop out. The Ice Ball landed in her mouth, and her cheeks puffed out.

"Don't you dare explode, Dahlia," Melony said in a warning tone.

Dahlia spat out the ball of ice coated with a Shadow Ball. The ball collided with Spheal, knocking it back. Dahlia snickered.

"Body Slam!" Shin cried. He was obviously getting slightly frustrated with the battle.

Spheal barked a bit weakly and rolled at Dahlia. Spheal unfortunately kept going, straight through Dahlia, and Melony had to jump out of the way to keep from getting hit.

Dahlia grinned broadly and spat another Shadow Ball at Spheal, causing the small Pokemon to be blasted into the air.

Spheal crashed hard, and after a minute of no motion, it was obvious that it was unable to battle.

"Wow, you beat me," Shin said, recalling his Pokemon. "That was an awesome battle." He walked over to Melony and held out a hand for a handshake.

Melony shook his hand, after returning Dahlia to her ball. "Thank you, and I agree."

"Wow, Melony, that was amazing!" Xander wrapped an arm around Melony, and she ducked out from under him.

"Yay, Melony and Xander are super battlers!" Sera cheered.

"TOT!" Terra cheered as well, though he might not have known what he was cheering for.

"Great!" Kelly commented.

"Ri..." Nova nodded, as if he was finally starting to approve of Melony and Xander.

"Tic, Tic, Togetic!" Zaye clapped cheerfully.

"Now, we need to go find a room to stay in and wait for Nico and Lauren to get back, right?" Melony asked, not letting her friends' compliments get to her head.

"Yeah, we do, and we need to discuss why you avoid me even though you like me," Xander smirked.

Melony's face lit up almost instantly. "Uh... No."

"Well, I hope we cross paths again," Shin said, smiling sweetly.

"Yeah, that would be nice," Melony smiled back, still trying to recover from Xander reminding her that he knew.

With that, Shin departed, and the group went into the Pokemon Center to get settled into a room and rested up for their journey to the peak of and the second gym.


	11. The Beast of Thunder

**Author's Note: **My apologies for the last chapter. I was trying to practice my battle scene writing skills, and I wanted to get some more characters introduced, because people have been asking me when characters are going to be introduced. I've got very few characters left to introduce now, but it might be a few chapters before any characters are introduced, I dunno. Cliché chapter name, but I'm not good at giving anything titles.

**Chapter 11: The Beast of Thunder**

It was late now, and the sun had set. The group had settled into a room consisting of four tiny bunk beds. They had changed into their sleeping wear, and were now having conversation about the days events. Sera was already alseep.

"Oh!" Nico grinned broadly, pulling her notepad out of her bag, which lay beside her bottom bunk. "I've been dying to tell you guys what Lauren and I saw today!"

"What's up?" Melony asked. She was sprawled out on her bed, a top bunk, her hair slightly messy from rolling around, trying to get comfortable. She had her arms wrapped around Izumi.

"Yeah, tell if you're so eager to tell," Xander said. He was on the bed below Melony. He lay with his arms behind his head.

"We saw what Lauren says might be one of the Legendary Beasts!" Nico continued to grin as she spoke. She was sitting up, with her legs crossed. Her Sneasel was curled on the bed beside her, asleep.

"Yes," Lauren agreed. She was curled up on the top bunk above Nico. Her eyes showed that she was becoming tired. "It was yellow, with a mane that resembled a cape. When it walked, blue electricity pulsed from its paws."

"Really? That sounds cool," Melony said, rolling over to lean over the edge of the bed.

"It was!" Nico nodded. "It was too bad that it disappeared before we could even approach it."

"Did you at least see which direction the Pokemon went in?" Xander asked. He had rolled over onto his side, showing more interest in the conversation now.

"Uh, yeah!" Nico paused, skimming her notes to make sure that she was correct before she spoke. "It took a giant leap towards Mt. Keevo."

"It was such a shame that the Pokemon moved so quickly," Lauren frowned. "I do believe it noticed us, because it looked in our direction before fleeing."

"I hope we all get to see it again, later," Melony said. She was still leaning over the bed, but she was now toying with one of Izumi's ears.

"That would be pretty sweet," Kelly spoke for the first time, punctuating her sentence with a yawn. "I've never seen a legendary Pokemon."

"I doubt any of us have," Melony said, assuming that rarely anyone had seen the legendary Pokemon.

"I have..." Lauren said, her voice trailing off as she recalled her encounter with a legendary. "I met Lugia before I came to Nicor, and that beautiful creature was one of the reasons that I came to the Nicor Region."

"What happened?" Nico inquired. "Did it try to attack you?"

"No..." Lauren shook her head. "It inspired me to leave my old life behind."

"What was your old life?" Xander arched a brow at Lauren, suddenly feeling slightly suspicious of her.

"I do not feel comfortable telling any of you this information at this moment," Lauren spoke quickly, turning her head as her eyes filled with tears.

Xander sighed. "I've encountered a Legendary before, but it was only for a few seconds..."

"Do tell," Nico said. Her grin had turned to a smile that held some extent of tiredness.

"It was Mew," Xander said, trying to recall his story.

"That really adorable pink legendary with huge blue eyes?" Melony asked, leaning over the bed an inch more to look at Xander.

"Yeah..." Xander nodded. "I was actually riding my Lapras in the waters around Kanto, and training on wild ocean Pokemon, when I saw a flash of color and Mew collided with my Lapras. It stopped, shook off, and looked at me," Xander paused for breath. "I thought it was going to be social for a minute, but it actually panicked and disappeared in another flash."

"I bet it was really cute," Nico commented.

"It was, and I was young and didn't know to much of legendaries," Xander explained. "When I returned home and told people what I saw, they were amazed."

"It really is kinda amazing," Melony said.

"Yeah," Xander nodded. "I also think it would be amazing if we kill the light and try to get some sleep. We probably got to do some hiking tomorrow."

"I got it," Kelly said, hopping up, hitting the light switch to kill the lights.

Within a matter of seconds, the room had quieted down to the mix of snoring and the occasional sound from the Poke Center on the ground floor.

"Hm?" Xander awoke to see Melony hop down from her bunk and leave the room. He groaned and rubbed the tiredness from his eyes. Once his vision had cleared, he glanced out the window to see that it was still pitch black outside, and he wished that he would've glanced at the time before he had went to bed so he could tell how long they'd been asleep. The digital clock hanging from the wall read 4:15am.

"What is she doing?" Xander mumbled to himself. He sat up, and not bothering to put his shoes or shirt on, followed Melony.

He found Melony outside, training, though in a different technique than what most trainers would use.

She was letting Izumi fire Water Guns at her, and she was dodging herself.

"Okay, now, Izumi, I'm going to let Dahlia train with you," Melony spoke in a quiet voice, but in the still of the night, it was still audible to Xander, who was standing in the shadow of the PokeCenter.

Melony let out her Ghastly. "Now, Dahlia, dodge as fast as you can, and Izumi, you try to hit her!"

"Ghass..." Dahlia hissed, and vanished.

Once the ghost pokemon reappeared, Izumi fired at her, and the pokemon vanished and reappeared in a different area.

"Why you training at four in the morning?" Xander stepped out of the shadows and walked towards Melony.

He saw when Melony stiffened and turned around to sigh in relief that it was him. "Oh, Izumi and I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

"So you train?" Xander arched a brow, folding his arms over his bare chest.

"Yeah," Melony shrugged. "I figured we needed a bit more training before we take on hiking up Mt. Keevo, and Izumi agreed with me."

"You're... Crazy," Xander chuckled. His grin was noticeable even in the dim light of night.

"Hey!" Melony pouted. "It's what a good trainer does, isn't it?"

"I dunno. I never train at four in the morning, and I've got quite a few badges," Xander spoke in a taunting voice.

"You're so full of yourself!" Melony snapped. "I hate that about you!"

"Nah," Xander shook his head, unfolding his arms. It revealed that he had a tribal tattoo spreading across his chest. "You don't hate anything about me."

Melony tried to think of something to say, but eventually sighed, her face turning bright pink. She glanced at her Pokemon, who were still obeying her orders, wishing she could change the subject. "Uh, so?" She eventually snapped, with less spunk than before.

Xander seemed to drift into thought, thinking of something to say. "So... How about I just kiss you right now, hm?" He stepped closer to her, to where there was only an inch or two separating them.

"Uhm..." Melony's eyes shifted back and forth. In a way, she wanted to step back, but in a way, she didn't see what one kiss could hurt.

Xander chuckled, and before Melony could decide to back away, he lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers. Once he pulled back, he saw that Melony's eyes were sparkling, but her face was still a dark shade of red.

"Uhm..." she stuttered. "I- I don't know what to say..."

Xander smiled, but it wasn't his usual cocky smile, it was genuinely sweet smile. "You don't got to say anything."

"War?..." The two, who had not been paying attention to Melony's pokemon for awhile, looked down to see Izumi staring up at them with confused eyes. She had bruises on her arms that appeared to be from falling.

"Oh, hey, Izumi!" Melony smiled, glad that she had been relieved of her romantic/awkward moment. She knelt in front of the Wartortle. "You ready to go in?"

Izumi nodded, blushing and avoiding eye contact, as if she was ashamed that she was tired.

"Ghastly..." Dahlia appeared next to Melony's head. The pokemon looked beat, and its normally mischievous facial expression was gone.

"You also want to go in, don't you?" Melony asked, taking out the Pokeball that Dahlia belonged in, and recalling the Pokemon. She then turned to Xander. "You're going to come in as well, right?"

"Yep," Xander nodded. "I told you that I don't train this early in the morning," Xander replied.

The sun was shining brightly by the time that the group was awake and ready to leave out for Mt. Keevo.

"I must warn you all of something before you leave on your journey up Mt. Keevo," Nurse Joy stopped the group right as they got to the door of the PokeCenter. "Mt. Keevo is characterized by a strong, unexplained electrical force. All Pokemon that are not electric type or immune to electric type must be recalled before leaving for Mt. Keevo."

"Oh," Melony glanced at Izumi. "Thank you for telling us." She took out Izumi's Pokeball and recalled her. "Sorry, girl."

"Tic..." Zaye whined as Kelly withdrew Nova and her.

"I know you hate to be in your ball, Zaye," Kelly sighed, putting the two balls away.

"I don't wanna do this, but I gotta," Sera said, as she withdrew a protesting Terra. "I'll let you out as soon as we leave the mountain."

"Sorry, Frost," Nico said, as her Sneasel glared at the ball in her hand. "You gotta get in the ball."

"The mountain is not very civilized at all," Nurse Joy added, once all Pokemon had been withdrawn. "Most people do not want to live in a place where they can have only few types of Pokemon. There are a few houses along the way, and close to the mountain peak, the Keevo Gym awaits."

"And then, after Melony beats this gym, we'll get to go to the next gym and I'll finally get to see my big bro again!" Sera grinned broadly. "I can't wait!"

"I'm sure Melony will be able to take on the second gym with no problem," Xander said, smirking at Melony.

"I'm not so sure..." Melony spoke sheepishly, blushing. "My strongest Pokemon is a Water-Type, and I bet the gym has some electric Pokemon in it."

"The gym leader's name is Valerie, and she specializes in Pokemon that have high defenses and immunities to electricity," Nurse Joy said. "She comes in town once a month to get medicines, since she nurses her Pokemon herself."

"To beat her with an electric Pokemon would be downright humiliating for her, I bet," Kelly commented.

"I don't have an electric Pokemon," Melony said. "And I'd prefer to use my own Pokemon, before you suggest borrowing Charger."

"Since there's an electrical current in the mountain, there are probably a lot of electric Pokemon on the mountain," Nico said.

"There are also small tunnels in the mountains where a few other types of Pokemon take shelter," Nurse Joy said, and then added, "or so I've heard trainers say."

"Hm," Melony nodded. "I think I might try to catch something on Mt. Keevo. I could use a new addition to my team."

"Okay, then let's get going," Kelly said, determination in her voice.

"I hope I get some time to do a lot of field work," Nico said, as the group left the Pokemon Center. "I'm sure I'll be able to find impressive information."

"Are you going to show us how rangers catch Pokemon?" Melony asked, as they walked to the trail that began the hike up Mt. Keevo.

There were no other trainers out at the moment. The only people the be seen were the construction workers and their fighting Pokemon, working to rebuild the buildings of Kefii that had been destroyed.

"Uh," Nico thought for a moment. "Sure, I'm certain that I can find a Pomemon that I like somewhere on Mt. Keevo.

"So I will get to see two of my comrades catch Pokemon?" Lauren stated. "As well as a gym battle? This will be very interesting." She smirked.


	12. Blitz the Mareep

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the slow updating, but school and my boyfriend keep me busy, so I don't have a whole lot of time to write. Also, sorry about the slightly rushed romance and my failtastic dialogue. Anyway, here's chapter twelve.

**Chapter Twelve: Blitz the Mareep**

After less than a mile of hiking, there was a noticeable change in the terrain on Mt. Keevo. The land went from lush grass to dying patches, to a white stone material, covered in dust and pebbles. Plantation was nonexistent now, and the only sights to see on Mt. Keevo were the giant boulders, and the fact that the clouds were an ominous violet color, though it wasn't storming.

"Uhm," Sera let out a light whimper that broke the silence that had fell over the group. She hugged herself, and her eyes were even bigger than usual.

"What's up, Sera?" Kelly asked, glancing over her shoulder. She and Nico led the group, while Xander seemed to trail behind, taking his time. Melony and Sera walked close to each other, while Lauren was off to the side.

"D-does anyone think that the clouds look kinda mean?" Sera spoke in a shaky tone. She glanced up at the sky, and shuddered.

"It looks as if it might storm or something," Nico commented. "But it's not really humid at all, so it shouldn't rain." She had her notepad in her hand, scribbling something down.

"You're writing about this, aren'tcha?" Kelly asked, peeping over Nico's shoulder at the notepad.

"Even though I have only known Nico for a short time, I know that she writes down everything about the land," Lauren said. She had seemed almost dazed since the group had left the Pokecenter, but no one had questioned her yet.

Nico threw a smile over her shoulder. "Well, I'm a top ranger, and I need to take all the notes that I can."

"LOOK OUT!" A scream came from a cliff that towered above the group. There was a sound of rocks crumbling, another scream, and a male landed in between Melony and Kelly.

"Ow..." The boy ran his hand through his light, sand colored hair. His eyes were closed, even as he pushed himself onto his elbows. He was dressed in rancher clothing consisting of a blue and black plaid shirt, worn out jeans, and brown cowboy boots. He looked to be thirteen or fourteen, and the most noticeable feature about him was the freckles that covered his nose and a bit of his cheeks.

"Are you okay?" Melony had jumped back at the sound of the boy's scream, and she was staring, wide eyed at the boy.

"Yeah..." the boy spoke in a country accent, and he opened his eyes. "Would someone mind helpin' me up, though?" He looked around.

"We gotcha," Kelly extended a hand out to the boy, and she nodded at Nico to do the same. The two girls pulled the boy up with some effort.

"Thank ya," the boy nodded, smiling brightly now.

"Your welcome," Nico and Kelly spoke in unison.

"Uh, sorry 'bout nearly fallin' on you two," he nodded at Kelly, and then Melony. "I was lookin' around for one of the Mareep that escaped my father's farm." he paused for only a second before inquiring, "You ain't saw a Mareep runnin' around, have ya?"

"No, we haven't been on the mountains long," Melony shook her head. This was the point that she realized she was leaning against Xander, and she jumped away from him, blushing fiercely.

"Hey, what's up with that?" Xander spoke in a low tone, seeming somewhat offended.

"Uhm..." Melony simply turned darker, not saying anything to Xander.

Kelly gave Melony a quick questioning glance, noticing the tension between the two. Melony shook her head, dismissing it.

"Well... I really need to find that Mareep," the boy sighed. "She's a young one, raised on the farm, and I dun' believe that she'll make it in the mountains."

"Uhm, I don't mean to change the subject," Sera spoke in a low, mouse-like tone. "But... Why are the clouds so dark now...?"

"Oh," the boy's eyes went to the sky, and he scratched the back of his head. "I dunno, exactly... Mamma says it's something to do with a legendary Pokemon called Raikou."

"Raikou?" Melony asked. "Why would Raikou cause something like that?" She glanced at the sky, her eyes full of uncertainty. She felt scared of the clouds, even though it might be senseless.

"Raikou... He produces electricity or something... Dunno, lightning follows him, basically," the boy explained. His eyes weren't on the sky. He was scanning the area, chewing anxiously at his bottom lip.

"You want us to help you find your Mareep?" Nico asked.

His eyes stopped on Nico, and he smiled. "Y'all would be willing to help me?" he arched a brow.

"Sure," Nico shrugged, and one by one, the group agreed. After this, the boy introduced himself as Brandon, the group introduced themselves, and they split up to search for the Mareep. Brandon traveled with Nico and Lauren, while Kelly, Sera, Melony, and Xander traveled together.

"What's up with the little awkward thing going on between you and Xander?" Kelly whispered to Melony, after pulling her ahead of Xander and Sera.

"Uhhh..." Melony blushed fiercely, and shook her head. "It's nothing bad or anything..." She mumbled.

"So... If it's not bad, then you should tell me," Kelly prompted.

"We..." Melony smiled to herself, her eyes sparkling. "We kissed last night..."

"Aww..." Kelly cooed, grinning widely. "That's so sweet..."

"Awkward would be a better word for it," Melony rolled her eyes. "Not really the dating type, never really liked a guy to much, and I haven't known him long at all."

"Hey, don't worry about that," Kelly placed a hand on Melony's shoulder. "It was just a kiss, after all, nothing more."

"Whatcha two talking about?" Sera said, pushing her way in between Melony and Kelly.

"Nothing, Sera," Kelly said. "You wouldn't understand that much, anyway."

"C'mon, I'm ten!" Sera pouted, sticking her bottom lip out a bit. "I understand things!"

"What are you two saying that Sera wouldn't understand?" Xander caught up with them now, walking beside Melony.

"Nothing," Kelly sighed. "It was a conversation between Melony and me..."

"We shouldn't keep secrets from each other!" Sera continued to pout.

"It's not really a secret for Xander," Kelly smirked at Xander. "It's just something that you really wouldn't understand or care to know, Sera."

Xander arched a brow, and then his cocky smirk appeared. "OH, I know what you two were talking about." He smirked at Melony now, who avoided eye contact. "Don't do me like that..."

"Xander, be nice to Melony," Kelly said in a firm tone. "If she doesn't want to say anything about it, then don't make her. It'll only make things worse."

"C'mon, please tell me what happened!" Sera stomped her foot, obviously getting frustrated.

"Mareep..." Melony mumbled under her breath.

"Oh, yeah, we do need to be looking for that Mareep," Kelly said, averting her attention to the path ahead. Her eyes widened when she saw what Melony was talking about.

In the path, not even six feet away from them, was a tiny little sheep Pokemon, with a blue face, and cream colored wool.

"Get it!" Melony broke into a run just as the Mareep noticed them and fled.

Xander, Kelly, and Sera followed behind her, all running.

"So, are the clouds always like that?" Nico asked Christian, once the other part of the group had departed. She wanted to take her notepad out, but she needed to help Christian, and she knew it'd have to wait until later.

"I haven't lived here all of my life. I'm from Olivine City, in the Jhoto Region. Moved here when I was seven," Christian started. He was still chewing his lip, worried about the lost Mareep. "But, yeah, as long as I can remember, the clouds over Mt. Keevo have always been that way."

"It's not, uh, intimidating or anything?" Nico asked. She didn't like the thought of living in an area that was constantly overcast by dark clouds.

"Nah, it doesn't take long to get used to it," Christian shook his head. His eyes then fell on Lauren. "Why ain't you speakin' too much?"

Lauren glanced up at him, and smiled sweetly. "I do not talk much around people I am not well acquainted with."

"Ah, then that's fine, I guess. Most people in my family would think of you as rude, though," Christian said.

"I am sorry," Lauren spoke without much feeling behind her voice.

"Have you ever seen Raikou?" Nico changed the subject, though she did worry about her friend.

"No, I haven't, I don't believe," Christian shrugged.

"We saw it yesterday, though it was only for a few seconds," Nico said, excitement rising in her voice.

"Really?" Christian arched a brow, genuinely amazed. "Was it big and mysterious, like my grandpa says it is?"

"He was yellow, with stripes and a long mane," Nico described. "He looked at us, and fled."

"That must've been a sight," Christian shook his head.

"Mareep!" Melony snapped, just in time for Nico, Christian, and Lauren to turn around and see the others chasing after a young Mareep, Melony in the lead.

"Gotcha!" Melony dove when she got within a few feet of the pokemon, landing on it.

"Marrr!" the Mareep cried out, sending an electric spark through Melony's body.

Melony whimpered in pain, her entire body sparking. "Ow..." She grimaced.

"I should've warned ya that they have Static, and they use it when ya scare 'em," Christian said, frowning. He knelt next to Melony and the Mareep. "Hiya, Blitz."

"Marr..." The Mareep, Blitz, squeezed itself out from under Melony, and turned around. "Mareep..." She had an apologetic look on her face before licking Melony's face.

"Are you okay, Melony?" Xander knelt next to her.

"I do believe she's paralyzed," Christian explained. "If we get her back to my farm, my folks can take care of it with no problem." He hesitated. "The thing is, I doubt she can move, so someone's gonna have to carry her. I can, if she doesn't mind," he glanced at Xander. "Or you can."

"Melony, I'm gonna pick you up, is that okay?" Xander asked. "Can you nod or speak?"

"Doesn't... Matter," Melony said, with great effort.

"Is she in pain right now?" Sera asked, tears in her eyes. "It looks like she'd be in pain."

"Nah, don't think so. I've been paralyzed by a Mareep before. You kinda go numb. She might be a lil' sore after she recovers, though." Christian knelt and picked up Blitz. "We ain't that far away from my place, so let's go."

Xander lifted Melony up, bridal-style, and the group began to walk. "Sorry, Melony, I know this is probably awkward for you," he mumbled.

Christian's farm was on a plateau in the mountain, and it consisted of a large barn, a huge pasture, and a two story, farm house where they lived.

Electric Pokemon lived in a pastures, ranging from Pichu to Electivires, though Mareep and Flaaffy dominated.

When they got to the porch of the farmhouse, the door opened and a woman who was probably in her forties walked out, and her eyes widened. "You found Blitz! And... she hurt a traveler..."

"Yes, Mamma," Christian nodded. "Do you think you can help this traveler out any?"

"Course I can," the woman smiled. "Jus' c'mon in and sit 'er on the sofa." The woman's accent was more countrified than Christian's, and slightly hard to understand.

The group nodded their thanks and entered the farm house. In the center of the room that they entered was a large, overstuffed, brown sofa, surrounded on each side by two recliners.

"Elec..." A rather large Electrike approached them, sniffed their feet, and yipped again.

"Oh, that's Bolts, he won't hurt ya," the woman explained. "By the way, m' name's Eliza. My husband and his parents ain't 'round right this moment, but ya might get to meet 'em."

The group introduced themselves as Xander laid Melony gently down on the sofa.

"Mareeeep," Blitz whined, hopping onto the sofa at Melony's feet.

"I'll be riiight back," Eliza said, disappearing into a doorway that led to the kitchen.

"Reep?" Blitz nudged Melony's foot.

"I think Blitz is worried 'bout Melony," Eliza said, once she was back in the room, with a cup of something that was steaming and a spoon. She sat down on the very edge of the sofa and dipped a soupy, red liquid out of the cup. "This might be a tad bit spicy." She placed the spoon in Melony's mouth.

"Mmhh...!" Melony squeaked, her entire body jerking.

"Sorry, but you need two more spoon-fulls and a nice rest," Eliza explained. She removed the spoon, gave more liquid to Melony, and repeated the process.

"What _is_ that?" Melony asked hoarsely, wiping tears from her eyes.

"It's a remedy made from good ol' Cheri berries from the Spore Path," Eliza explained.

"It's really spicy, ain't it?" Christian asked.

"Yeah..." Melony sighed, still wiping at her eyes.

"Mareep?" Blitz climbed onto Melony's stomach and licked her in the face.

"I ain't never seen Blitz lick someone like that," Eliza shook her head. "She must really like you."

Melony smiled, and cautiously petted the small sheep Pokemon.

"Mamma, we were plannin' to give Blitz away anyway, since this is the second time she's ran off," Christian started. "How about we give her to Melony?"

"That might jus' work," Eliza nodded. "Would you like ta take this Mareep with ya when ya leave?" She asked Melony.

"Uhm, sure," Melony shrugged.

"Alrighty then," Christian pulled out a Pokeball from his coat. "Blitz, you're going with Melony when she leaves."

"Marr?" Blitz glanced from Christian, to Eliza, to Melony.

"Thanks," Melony said. She was starting to feel slightly tired. "I think we need to get going now, so we can hopefully make it to a Pokecenter before it gets too late..."

"Nonsense!" Eliza grinned. "We got a couple of guest rooms. They only got a big bed per room, so you might have to share beds, but y'all can stay here for the night."

"It's not that late right now," Melony said, her eyes now on the window. "We could make it to a Pokecenter."

"No, I insist that y'all stay here tonight. The boy can sleep on the couch, and you girls can sleep in the beds," Eliza said.

The group exchanged glances. After a moment of silence, they all nodded.

"Melony doesn't feel well, and the next Pokecenter might be far away, so it might just be best that we stay here," Kelly said.

"Alrighty, it's settled," Eliza beamed, showing slightly crooked teeth. "We'll be sure to get y'all up bright and early so y'all can eat, and get a head start on the day."


	13. Saving a Legend

**Author's Note: **I'm done setting deadlines. There won't be updates every week. I'm sorry. It's my main slump of the year, because of holidays, school and other things, and I just don't have time to sit down at a computer and take the three to four hours it takes me to type out a chapter. I'll work as fast as I can on this story, and please, my faithful readers, stay with me until after Christmas holidays, and I should come out of my slump, go back in one around March, and come back out during the Summer, providing that I don't have to get a Summer job. **I am no longer accepting OC's and this is final. I've got enough characters, unless you want to make someone who only appears in one chapter or something. Rivals, Gym Leaders, etc. are full. I need the Elite Four, but I will call for that when Melony is on her seventh badge, which might not be until next year or so.**

Sorry for the rant, but I felt that everything needed to be explained. I'll start typing the chapter now.

Also, for those who like my Pokemon story, I'll be making an Isshu Region story when they release the English names for all of the new Pokemon.

**Chapter Thirteen: Saving a Legend**

Despite the bright sun trying to make an attempt to shine through the dark violet clouds overhead, still didn't look like much more than a barren, dusty land. The trainers departed from Eliza's farm after enjoying the first nice breakfast since any of them had arrived in Nicor.

"I wish we could hurry up and get off of this mountain," Sera pouted, once they were away from the farm, and hiking up a trail that Christian had informed them led to a cave. "I want to take Terra out of his ball. He's probably so upset."

"This mountain really isn't too enthusing," Kelly agreed. "Not to mention Zaye is probably going to start wailing when I let her out."

"I can't wait to get to the cave. I think I'll try my capture styler if we see any Pokemon while we're there!" Nico was the only one that was really energized at the moment. She was walking just a bit ahead of the group, notebook in hand, a smile on her face. She didn't seem to be phased by the fact that Eliza had woken everyone at seven in the morning.

Melony glanced at Blitz, who at the moment, had refused to go in her ball. She was hopping just in front of Melony, stopping every so often to sniff around. "You're probably used to their schedule, aren't you?"

"Mar?" Blitz through a glance over her shoulder, and smiled, not really seeming to comprehend her question too much.

"I really don't like waking up early," Xander punctuated his sentence with a yawn. "I don't see the point in it."

Nico was now walking backwards with little effort, her eyes scanning the area that they were passing, making sure that she hadn't skipped over anything. Her eyes stopped on Lauren, who still hadn't been speaking too much. "Hey, why did you go all quiet on us?" She asked, frowning.

Lauren's eyes had been on the ground below, but when Nico spoke to her, she didn't hesitate to speak back. "Nothing is wrong," then she hesitated. "I might tell everyone later. Now is not the time."

"Why don't you just tell us now if something is bothering you?" Melony asked, throwing a glance to her right, towards Lauren.

"We are busy. We must get to the small lodge that Christian spoke of before it gets dark," her eyes went to the clouds that shrouded the skies of Mt. Keevo. "I am most certain that it will be nearly impossible to see where we are going during the night."

"But if something is bothering you, then you should just go ahead and tell us, get it off your chest," Nico said, a hint of whining to her voice.

"Not now," Lauren's words were somewhat harsh, even though her voice was calm. She folded her arms over her chest and her eyes went back to the ground below that she was once concentrating on.

With a worried look, Nico stared at Lauren for a moment more before sighing and returning to her field work.

Melony glanced over her shoulder only a couple of times at Lauren before a scream that somehow sounded familiar echoed through the mountain. It was obvious that it wasn't very far away, just a climb over a seven or eight foot wall.

The group began to rush, Nico the first to skillfully scale the wall. Melony, Kelly, and Lauren followed close behind, but Xander had to hoist Sera up and then climb over himself.

The first thing they noticed was Nanda and Onna Glice, with their Plusle and Minun, Mo and Ma, standing their ground. Onna was screaming bloody murder at the scene in front of them, while Nanda simply fumed, her eyes narrowed.

Their were four people in Team Shockwave suits surrounding something. One appeared to be female and shorter than the others, and the others were males, though one about seven inches taller than the rest of them, and he didn't wear a hat. A few feet away from the scene stood Maer, appearing bare without her Glaceon or Mamoswine. There were a few electric Pokemon that probably belonged to Team Shockwave.

"What is going on?" Melony ran up between Nanda and Onna, and Onna finally stopped screaming.

"They have Raikou..." Nanda mumbled, turning towards Melony.

Melony realized now that the reason Nanda and Onna were holding their pokemon was because they were fainted.

"Arich, those kids from Keffi have followed us," Maer said. Melony couldn't see Maer's face, but she guessed that the Team Shockwave executive was glaring at her group.

The taller guy turned around and glared. His hair was short and a bright electric blue color. His eyes were a golden that could be noticed from afar. The most noticeable feature about Arich was the burn scar that covered his entire right cheek, ending just under his eye.

"So, we've got us more little brats to try to stop the plans?" Arich's voice was deep, and sounded somewhat maniacal. "Take care of the Pokemon," he said over his shoulder. He began to walk, and an Electivire, who also had burn scars over his right arm and face, began to follow him. He stopped in front of Melony.

"Marrr..." Blitz growled, trying to sound fierce, but sounding cute instead.

Arich snickered. "Pulse, let's just go ahead, and put an end to that useless little Pokemon..." he said.

"Viiiire," the Electivire, Pulse, growled, and in one swift mood, grabbed Blitz.

"Charger, go!" Xander called quickly, from behind Melony. "Attack with full force and save Blitz!"

"Jolteon!" Charger growled, his spikes standing high in the air. In a flash of wicked bolts, Charger tackled Pulse, pushing the huge Pokemon back and knocking Blitz out of his hand.

"Blitz!" Melony caught the Mareep, and turned to Arich. "Why are you trying to kill my Pokemon?" She snapped, getting as close to his face as possible.

Arich snickered, grinning crazily. "To distract you while we steal Raikou..."

"Charger, I know this isn't good, but go at full speed and attack the Team Shockwave members!" Xander called, pointing to the group of Team Shockwave members.

Raikou was visible now, and the group could see that Team Shockwave had the beast's paws tied together, and were securing a net around the Pokemon. Raikou wasn't completely unconscious, as its body was twitching, but it was too weak to get free.

Something in Melony finally snapped, and she threw her fist at Arich, letting it collide with his face.

Arich laughed as he grabbed her fist, and in one movement slammed her to the ground. "Silly child. People do not battle. Pokemon battle," he chuckled.

"Who the heck says?" Xander threw a sympathetic glance at Melony, nodded at Charger, and swiftly ran past Arich and Pulse.

Charger slammed into the female of the group and one male, and Xander tackled the other male, who cried out in surprise.

"I promise I wouldn't do this unless it were dire circumstances, and it is," Kelly threw two balls in the air, sending at Sabin the Houndoom., and Kamaria the Ivysaur.

The charge of the mountain zapped the Pokemon, paralyzing them, and making them both cry out in pain.

"I'm so sorry you two, but please overcome the shocking and save Raikou!" Kelly commanded.

Sabin and Kamaria gave their trainer sympathetic looks, and struggled to move, failing in the process.

"They're not going to be able to move... The electricity is causing them way too much pain," Arich said. He now stood with his arms crossed over his chest, one foot on Melony's stomach to make sure she didn't move.

Kelly grunted, and recalled both of her Pokemon. Her eyes were now on Xander and Charger. Xander had managed to get one of the grunts down, but he was cornered at the edge of the cliff by two Luxio and a Luxray. Charger was trying to hold his own against a Magnezone.

The two remaining Team Shockwave members had almost secured the net around Raikou, and their progress was speeding up as Maer helped them.

"We have to do something," she mumbled to herself.

"Sera, don't you own a Dratini?" Lauren asked, a ball in her hand.

Sera was huddled away from all of the commotion now, where Maer used to be standing. She looked up when Lauren spoke to her and nodded. "I have Hiro..." she mumbled, taking out a Luxury Ball.

"Okay, come here," Lauren nodded to the space beside her.

"Okay," Sera said.

She was almost to Lauren when Arich said, "Stop her, Pulse."

"Electivire..." Pulse nodded, and grabbed Sera in one hand as she passed. "Viiirre." Pulse held a struggling Sera above his head.

"Dahlia, Explosion," Melony coughed, grabbing the Pokeball that held Dahlia as quick as she could, and throwing it at Pulse.

The Ghastly burst from her ball, and just as she was zapped by the mountain, she exploded.

Pulse was hurled to the edge of the mountain, throwing Sera in the process.

"Stratos, catch Sera!" Lauren threw the Pokeball that she was holding and as the Altaria burst from her ball, she hopped on it.

Even though the Pokemon was being horribly shocked, she flew as fast as she could, and just as Sera was about to hit the ground, the Pokemon's cotton wing cushioned her landing.

"You will not save this Raikou," Maer spoke to the two trainers who had landed close to her. She and the two other Shockwave members secured the net, and a helicopter began descending from the sky.

"Sera, get Hiro to use something," Lauren whispered. She cringed in pain as the shocks were transferred from Stratos to her.

"Kay," Sera's whole body ached, and she wondered how she had managed to keep her Dratini's Pokeball in her hand the entire time. "Hiro, Dragon Pulse with all your strength!"

Hiro appeared in a flash of golden light, and with extreme quickness, he shot a green pulse from his mouth that caused an explosion of smoke.

Once the smoke cleared, the entire group was amazed to see that Raikou's net had been broken, and the Team Shockwave members were now a few feet away from the net.

Lauren recalled Stratos, and with effort, she pulled herself and Sera to their feet. Sera recalled Hiro, making a mental note to praise the Dratini later, and they both ran for Raikou.

Sera plopped down on top of the Beast of Thunder, and Lauren stood in front of it. "Team Shockwave, I suggest that you all leave now!" She snapped.

"Yeah, you're not taking Raikou!" Sera snapped. She was concentrating on getting a piece of net out from around Raikou's paws. The beast's eyes were watching her cautiously. "I'm not gonna hurt ya..." Sera cooed.

Arich had left Melony now, and recalled Pulse. He was now standing next to Maer and the other female from the Team Shockwave members, and they were talking among themselves in low voices.

While the three were talking, all of the group, even Xander who had managed to escape the Pokemon who were tormenting him, ran over to Raikou. Xander, Melony, Nanda, and Lauren stood guard, while Nico, Onna, Sera, and Kelly worked on getting the net off of Raikou without harming it anymore.

"This is not the end of Team Shockwave, though it is the end of Misson Raikou," Maer eventually called, as she climbed into the helicopter. All of the electric Pokemon that belonged to Team Shockwave were now recalled, and everyone but Arich was in the helicopter.

"Yesss... Do not expect that you will be able to stop Team Shockwave anymore after this," Arich spoke in a voice that full of insanity. "We were not prepared, but we won't be as stupid as to let our guard down next time!"

After Arich hopped into the helicopter, it lifted off, and in a matter of seconds, Team Shockwave was gone.

"Uhm, Nanda, Onna," Melony started, after recalling her fainted Ghastly, "do either of you know where that small resting lodge is?"

"We've got to get this poor pokemon to a Pokecenter," Sera said, running her hand through Raikou's mane. "I don't know what they did to it, but it's pretty serious."

"I do think that the lodge is pretty close, but how are we going to transport Raikou?" Onna's eyes were on the beast, and her mouth was curved into a frown. "We can't carry it all together."

"Maybe someone could catch it?" Sere suggested. She looked in the red eyes of Raikou. "Would you let me capture you, just for a little while?"

Raikou growled in response, and seemed to try and get to its feet, only to fail horribly. He let out a groan of pain and closed his eyes.

"I've got a few potions," Sera suggested. "Do you think they'd help him?" She looked around at all of her friends.

"It wouldn't hurt to try it," Melony shrugged. "Raikou is a Pokemon, so he should be able to use Pokemon medicine."

Sera nodded and dug into her bag, pulling out two Hyper Potions. "You think that this should do it?" She asked.

"That should overdo it, actually," Nico said. "Hyper Potions are the second strongest of the potions."

"Okay," Sera nodded. Aiming the bottle at Raikou, she said, "This may hurt some, buddy. Please don't get too angry with me." She sprayed the potion into the Raikou's fur, and at first, the beast merely growled and whimpered, but after a few sprays, the growls got stronger. Once Sera was done with the first bottle, Raikou climbed to its feet with ease, pushing the trainers that surrounded it away.

It made eye contact with every trainer, nodded, and in one mighty leap, disappeared over the mountain ledge. A howl rang through the mountains, a thank you from the Beast of Thunder.

All of the trainers stood, and exchanged glances.

"Uhm, I would love for me and my twin to battle you Xander again, Melony, but unfortunately, I think now is not the best time," Onna was the first to speak.

"Yeah... How about we agree to meet at the next Pokecenter and we have a battle? Nanda suggested.

"That will work," Melony smiled. She then turned her gaze to Xander, and instantly, her face flushed. After a few seconds of silence, she asked, "Is that alright with you?"

Xander grinned at her. "'Course it is!"

"Alright, well see you all soon," Nanda waved, and began to walk.

"Bye!" Onna yelled over her shoulder.

The group waved as the Glice twins departed, the image of Raikou still on their minds.

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed. Sorry if its short. I'll update whenever I can get around to it.


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